Copping the Black Flag font for your album art is a ballsy move, but ATX’s Broken Gold prove worthy on the raw, brooding E.P.III. The melodic post-punks follow up 2015’s equally memorable Turning Blue EP with another brief song cull bristling with a nervy energy that recalls classic Dinosaur Jr. The four-track, 12-minute collection largely eschews the moments of euphoria found on its predecessor in favor of a more melancholic sound. Guitars cut rather than glitter, and Riverboat Gambler Ian MacDougall pushes his voice to the brink as he exorcises his demons. “Can’t let go, trapped in my mind,” he wails on “Dome Light,” evoking the anxiety and claustrophobia that pervades the entire EP. The hooks are buried deeper this time around, but the digging pays off.

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This article appears in June 10 • 2016.

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