Hard-touring and hard-driving Winnipeg quintet Comeback Kid is back with an 11-track sophomore release that will tear the hell out of your speakers in just over 27 minutes. Varying slightly from the truest tradition of hardcore, these are aggressive, heavy songs which reveal punk and metal influences — but don’t get your panties in a bunch, because the boys haven’t ‘changed’ or sold out. The sound here — courtesy co-producer Bill Stevenson (of Descendents, All and Black Flag) is crisp and visceral, and the mix is dead on. The end result is a frantic but deadly album filled with shouted vocals, tight rhythms and driving, compressed guitars. When these guys dial it in, as on Our Distance and the title track, you’d best put your drink down so you can pump both fists without spilling your beer.

Mike Warkentin

Most basement junk boxes are full of action figures, old bits of electronic equipment and souvenirs. German-born Ian Pooley has been collecting vinyl since age 12 and — unlike most collectors — he’s put his passion to good use. On Souvenirs he revisits the Latin flavour first introduced in his 2000 release Since Then, and brings several exceptional guests on the trip. Brazilian musicians Rosanne and Zelia offer their sensual voices to Me Leve, and Marcos Valle steals the show on Sentimento by lending his vocal, piano, esclata and guitar talents. Steamy! Bony Batucada is fun for late-night dancing and Hotel Boogie will let you practice your salsa moves before trying them out in public. Although not nearly as good as a real holiday, this disc is better than a postcard. Best when used with the ugly shot glass your best friend bought you on her last vacation.

Shannon Ander

The windows in Uptown’s fortified compound are now being replaced after being shattered by this violent disc from French death metal trio YYRKOON. Calling Occult Medicine “heavy as hell” doesn’t even begin to describe the chaotic rage of songs such as Doctor X and Blasphemy. The bass drums throughout this disc could just as easily be replaced with a machine gun firing 40-mm rounds into a cement wall from a foot away, and the dual guitar assault is so aggressive that you get the feeling these bangers are using detached fingernails as picks clutched in bloody hands. Much of this album treads on the edge of the razor blade separating music from noise — but YYRKOON shows mastery of both, creating thunderous riffs and blissful, howling-harmonic cacophony. Get over here and take your metal medicine.

Mike Warkentin

This L.A. band has been recording since 1998, and More Adventurous is its third release (its first with major support). The disc is considered the band’s breakthrough and it’s easy to see why. Singer/lyricist Jenny Lewis is a bona fide star, possessed of the kind of aching, high-strung voice that can sing powerful rock tunes and acoustic roots songs as readily as it can handle torchy, string-backed ballads. Portions for Foxes, with its ringing guitar riff and unforgettable “baby, you’re bad news” chorus is this album’s standout cut. I Never finds Lewis belting out country heartache a la Neko Case, while It’s a Hit is an angry rant at George W. and corporate America. Sometimes this album seems too eclectic by far, and the band doesn’t always convince on the rockier numbers, but Lewis and Rilo Kiley deserve to be heard by more and more people.

John Kendle

Has it really been 25 years since we first heard the hazy psych-pop meanderings of the finest sons of Sydney, Australia? True it is, and in fine fashion the quaint quartet The Church has again delivered an album that fits neatly alongside the best of their earlier work while retaining a current-sounding edge. Forget Yourself — with 14 tracks adding up to nearly 63 minutes — is a weighty listen. Steve Kilbey’s hushed and slightly hoarse vocals add a haunting element to most of the tracks, and the soaring guitar artistry of Marty Willson-Piper drives the songs into a heavenly sonic space-scape that will be familiar to fans. There is no real contender for ‘pop masterpiece’ here. Those expecting an updated version of the classic The Unguarded Moment will be disappointed, but repeated listenings will have you reaching for the headphones and bong without hesitation.

Jeff Monk