Forgetters

The Blake is back and this time not just in the form of an Unfun reissue. Shortly after the break-up of the former Jawbreaker/Jets to Brazil frontman's last Brooklyn, NY-based project, Thorns of Life, he formed Forgetters with Kevin Mahon (Against Me!'s first drummer) and transplanted Floridian Caroline Paquita (Bitchin'). The new self-titled double seven-inch is every bit of everything you ever loved from Schwarzenbach: that voice, those guitars, the hooks and the fury. Though the production might sound a little thin to modern ears, by the time gloom punk opener "Vampire Lessons" bum rushes its own third chorus in a messy pile of yelps and ride cymbals there's no way you'd wish for anything fancier. The most striking thing about the EP is the balance of tough and tender, the latter hitting heaviest on "Too Small to Fail," the best bass-driven, fuzzy riffed indie jam this side of the early '90s.