So back when the Yeah Yeah Yeahs were tearing things up a decade or more ago, did you ever wonder what that band might sound like with Debbie Harry up front? Me neither. And I'm pretty sure that is not what Alex Dezen and Amber Bollinger were thinking, but that's what immediately what popped into my head.

Broken Baby Broken Baby (Poor Man/Palo Santo)

Bollinger doesn't come across as a polished singer, and Dezen (once of the Damnwells, and then some) isn't really inclined toward straightforward, mainstream music, but the level-pinning vocals and kitchen-sink arrangements somehow brought both of those bands directly to mind. All of the disparate, discordant sounds blend into surprisingly tasty hooks.

The press release also references the Jesus Lizard, probably because there hasn't been a more influential band in the last 30 years. So I'll bite on that one, too. But I'd also go back further, to the anarchic proto-pop of P.I.L. Dezen likes to nod and wink at 200 miles an hour, and Bollinger's perky meth-head vocals (I do mean that in the nicest way possible) have no trouble keeping up. The blitz is invigorating to the point of being overwhelming.

Does Broken Baby actually live up to these legendary influences? Not yet. But the potential revealed here is limitless. This is a crazy-quilt of ideas sandblasted onto a wall. Not everything sticks, and I'm pretty sure not everything is supposed to. Broken Baby is a wonderful example of creative destruction. And if you decide to dance along at times, that's cool.

Jon Worley