Infinite Xs

This queer-core super-group's debut's grittiness and punchy rhythm is belied by its highly melodic undertow. The relentlessly driving punk-pop beat of almost every one of the dozen tracks recalls the heyday of bassist/vocalist Jody Bleyle's seminal emo/punk project Team Dresch. However, the new group recalls that band's charm while foregoing much of that angsty early '90s grunge vibe, which that band got unintentionally dragged into because they hailed from Washington State. In fact, there are a couple of tracks, namely the synth-filled "Joanna," which ride the wave of that danceable sound currently being spearheaded by the likes of New York's Le Tigre, but they are surely the Infinite Xs own snarly guitar-inflected take on the sub-genre. Other San Francisco-based members hail from such infamous hard rock and punk bands as the Automaticans, Fighter D, the Little Deaths and Longstocking, and it shows in the quartet's muscular yet subtlety harmonic delivery. Infinite Xs is a solid debut from good musical pedigree.