When a band is as eccentric and obsessive as Caustic Casanova, there's just no way to pin it down. Do these folks play stoner rock? Power prog a la Rush? Melodic post punk that wouldn't offend a Superchunk or Poster Children fan? Ear-blistering metal that wipes away all traces of what came before?

Yeah. For starters.

Caustic Casanova Glass Enclosed Nerve Center (Magnetic Eye Recordings)

Though this is easily the band's most punky and accessible set, despite the sometimes extreme length of the songs, Caustic Casanova is merely adding to its repertoire. The band has never looked back, and this set is astonishingly forward-looking. While the band references Melvins in its press notes, I hear more and more Jawbox. And Jesus Lizard. The sludge and metal influences are still blasting away, but these songs really cook (even the 22-minute opus that fills the flip side).

And look! J. Robbins twisted the knobs (hardly a shocker, I know) for his fellow D.C. artists, and he has thinned out the sound just enough to allow even more weirdness to bleed out of the speakers. For me, though, what is really striking about this album is just how kinetic and driving these songs are. Sludge at the speed of sound, or something like that.

Whatever it is, this sucker moves. And the increasing emphasis on punk and hardcore simply ramps up the pressure. Fans of early CC might not recognize everything here, but the roots were set down early. Relentlessly inventive, Caustic Casanova has created one of the great albums of the year. Don't pigeonhole these folks, or they will come for your souls. I should know. They've owned mine for years.

Jon Worley