The Detroit band THUNDERBIRDS ARE NOW! takes its exclamation point very seriously indeed. The rowdy cheer of “T-H-U-N-D-E-R / B-I-R-D-S ARE NOW!” that kicks off its new Justamustache (Frenchkiss) lets you know exactly what’s coming: more manic energy than you may know what to do with. Sure enough, the album is a barrage of traded shouts, chant-along melodies, and pinprick hooks that chatter away over machine-gun beats. Their style harks back to simpler times–times like 1979, 1982, and 1983–but these guys are hardly mere kitsch spelunkers. In fact, when the chirping vocals resolve into aggressive slogans like “We need more ammunition” and “Don’t read what the papers say,” the Thunderbirds suggest what teen-riot popsters Bis might have sounded like if their collaboration with Gang of Four’s Andy Gill had jelled. Anyone old enough to rent a car won’t be able to handle this level of hopped-up intensity for more than an hour; fortunately Justamustache doesn’t last that long, and neither will tonight’s set. –Keith Harris
