The Sluts: S/T

Ryan Wise and Kristoffer Dover are not nice guys. That’s the point, anyway, that the Lawrence duo seems hellbent on making with every song on its first full-length. The blistering, foul-tempered 11 songs make for a tight, sophisticated improvement over last July’s The Loser. That EP’s four tracks reappear here, but the spitting anger that drove them benefits alongside a new show of restraint. Album opener “Let Me Go” sees guitarist and lead singer Wise demanding — over fuzzy, booming guitar chords and Dover’s propulsive drumming — to be released from a relationship that has fizzled out.

Lyrically, things don’t get much better for him: “Loser” finds him snarling over a few sad souls he has known, and on “Used to Do It,” he grouchily laments the end of a more, uh, physical relationship. Despite the animosity that Wise vents across these songs, the Sluts manage to keep things fun (even with Wise’s proclamation, I don’t believe in fun, on “No Fun”). Credit this to the crunchy pop hooks at the heart of every track. Whatever else they say, the Sluts want you to dance just as hard as you throw your punches. This new album gives occasion for both.