Stay Afraid

On their full-length debut, New York's Parts & Labor trade in a combination of emo, punk, and controlled squalling guitar noise that at times recalls the intensity of the Velvet Underground. The band's frenzied sonic assault on songs like "Timeline" and "A Pleasant Day" frames impassioned vocals, while furious, careening percussion drives the music inexorably forward, most obviously in the chiming "Springtime Hibernation."