GoGoGo Airheart

San Diego’s Gogogo Airheart have been making miscellaneous noise since the late ’90s and after a three-year break they’ve returned with their fifth album and first since 2002’s excellent Exitheuxa. Their last European tour found the likes of Franz Ferdinand and the Futureheads opening up for them, meaning now it’s time to show why they were in the position of headliner over such talent. Rats! Sing! Sing! is hailed as their most accomplished work yet and it’s not difficult to see why. The quartet have tightened up their sound with a more straightforward rock direction on songs like "Shattered” and "Burn It Down,” which show they’re controlling some improvisational tendencies. This move doesn’t suffocate their past fusions of various genres. "Dub Two” is appropriately titled, dressing a dub rhythm in full punked-up, lo-fi regalia, and "Taxi Up” is the finest of the bunch, transferring to a powerful synthetic funk beat that is accentuated by wild team vocals. It’s extremely doubtful they’ll get ahead of their former supporting acts in this life, but Rats! is an exceptional album that will appeal to those looking for a bit of harmonious turmoil.