The fifth album from Tampa’s Merchandise marks the band’s clearest departure from grittier sonic origins. A Corpse Wired for Sound retains the darkness that’s permeated Merchandise for nearly a decade, but does so with more restraint. Instead of aggression, cuts like “Shadow of the Truth” and “Flower of Sex” radiate a quiet violence, an Eighties darkness drawing from Echo & the Bunnymen, particularly in vocalist Carson Cox’s delivery. While closer “My Dream Is Yours” picks up the pace, the album pulses inward and outward, meditative, trapped in one place. (Wed. 15, Sidewinder Inside, 11pm; Fri. 17, Mohawk Outdoor, 9pm)

**.5

This article appears in March 17 • 2017.

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