Coma in Algiers

This Is Your Justice

Man-as-animal punk has included some great species: the Jesus Lizard, Electric Eels, Flipper. Austin fourpiece Coma in Algiers isn’t quite there yet, but its 13-song debut sure is agitated. This Is Your Justice comes at you convulsing and flailing, from the pavement-splatter of opener “Johnny Come Home” to the gooey guitar and bleak sexuality of “Black Rabbit,” but CIA uses the primality of guitars/bass/drums/occasional keys to measured effect, never turning into a screaming bloody mess. There’s even a sweet ballad, “Franklin & Julie,” but it gets appropriately backhanded by the guttersnipe of midalbum standout “House on Fire.” “Jelly” references sodomy, the Bible, and peanut butter for a nice slap of Yow-ism, and “Sex With an Invalid” sounds as depraved as it should, a throbbing chest-pound that makes follow-ups “Incest Party,” with its tin-foil chewing screams by singer Archbold, and “Hey Mom” feel exhilaratingly feral.

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This article appears in November 23 • 2007.

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