The Lambs EP

Album Review

If you've never heard Jucifer's hard-as-nails brand of noise rock, this dynamic Atlanta act brings more visceral energy to the table than indie rock's other elite couples (Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon, Boss Hog's Christina Martinez and Jon Spencer) combined. A raw, stripped-to-the-bone duo, G. Ed Livengood brings the hammer-of-the-gods drum skills, while firecracker frontwoman G. Amber Valentine rocks with distorted guitars cranked so damn high they'll make your ears bleed. The Lambs EP is a worthy, weighty follow-up to their critically acclaimed debut, with seven songs clocking in at 20 minutes. Moving from the sludgy, come-hither metal of the opening "Lambs 1" to the haunting piano balladry of "Lambs 3" to the inhuman howling of the abrasive "Gunsick," Jucifer moves from beautiful and seductive to aggressive and frightening in the time it takes most bands to come up with a chord progression. Though they've yet to achieve the widespread fame of the aforementioned duos, The Lambs EP proves they're one of the brightest bands on the indie rock circuit.