Trapdoor Fucking Exit

While many of Sweden's better-known punk exports hail from the school of head-knocking crusty punk and jerky retro-fied garage rock, TFE are more interested in looking forward to the shape of punk to come that the Refused so brilliantly blazed the trial for. The second full-length from this quartet is a progression on the already progressive sound of their blistering debut. Drawing (but not relying) on a vast array of diverse influences from their aforementioned countrymen to the screaming, angular spazz-core of the Jesus Lizard and San Diego scenesters like Drive Like Jehu and Tanner to the post-punk art-core of Polvo and Trail of Dead, this 11-track disc is both challenging and daring. It's also rewarding. Opening with the relatively straightforward drive of "Everything is Winding Down" and following up with "Intruder,” Be Not Content hits all its cues on track after head-shaking track. When we hit "Inherit the Inheritance,” the band pauses for some deep Clutch-like grooves and then breaks out the piano and acoustic guitars for "Here Are the Ghosts,” the closest thing to a TFE power ballad and the album's standout track. Other tracks that would garner approving nods from fans of the Melvins round out what is sure to be one of the most inspired and attention-deserving punk records of the year.