Scanners

Violence is Golden begins with "Joy,” a song full of sparse leanings coated in what flows from vocalist Sarah Daly’s mouth. In the first few seconds it sounds like something polished and transparent, and then there’s a catch in the song and it becomes bigger than it seemed it ever could. Scanners make something that sounds like suicide, something that rolls out like a storm. "Lowlife” and "In My Dreams” are completely convincing in the brutality of the sentiment they convey, while Daly’s vocals sound like they’re being chased by ghosts. "Bombs” takes a straight-ahead approach into a more high-energy assault, which is maintained into "Air 164.” The title track comes up in waves of subtle sweat and crashing climaxes. The bravado carried out here is comparable to Patti Smith, only made modern. There’s a touch of danger that runs through this album, something tremulous that hovers just under the surface, always sounding like it’s trying to break free.