This Manchester (of the English variety) three-piece plays first-rate punk music--to American ears. To the ears of their fellow Brits, this blistering mix of aggression, noise and just enough melody to hang a song qualifies as something else. But fans of Refused and any number of Touch and Go bands from the 90s will find refuge here.

Bobbie Peru Nurse Corkscrew (self-released)

This is the band's follow-up to its Nurse Corkscrew Demos which it released . . . almost nine years ago. The songs from that EP have been re-recorded, but not necessarily cleaned up. No matter how intermittent its output might be, Bobbie Peru's ferocious sound remains a hallmark.

Not exactly a throwback, as there is a bit of the modern shoegaze interpretation and some guitar noise that has evolved. But if you ever wondered what it might sound like if Jesus Lizard played Pulp really fast, there are moments here that provide just that window.

On the whole, though, Bobbie Peru has carved its own sound out of this morass. Fast, noisy and tuneful is always a recipe for my personal happiness, and if there's nothing we learned from the last election, it's that our own personal happiness is the only thing that matters (ahem). Cynical bullshitting aside, Bobbie Peru has picked up where it left off so long ago and continues to move into the future. Raggedy beauty is the best.