The Gotobeds, Private Room
Recommended
The latest from the Gotobeds—the very punnily titled Blood//Sugar//Secs//Traffic—is the band’s second full-length and debut for Sub Pop. It’s also a serious contender for 2016’s punk album of the year. Like the Replacements at art school, or a jocular keg party at a private liberal arts college, the Gotobeds make jittery, anxious guitar rackets under shouted one-liners from vocalist/guitarist Eli Kasan like “Fuck Rolling Stone/That trash rag.” The album mixes the artsy feel of British bands like the Fall or Swell Maps with the tallboy reputation of the group’s hometown of Pittsburgh. Funnier than Mission of Burma and less aloof than Pavement, the Gotobeds inject much-needed blood into the seemingly moribund indie rock and punk scenes of 2016. WILLIAM KENNEDY