Melt Yourself Down – Melt Yourself Down

The second track on pyretic jazz-punk collective Melt Yourself Down’s eponymous debut is titled Release!, but in truth the whole shebang is one great big release; an exotic whirlwind spinning out shrieking sax riffs, shamanic shouts and dizzying percussion, presenting only the rarest of opportunities to escape the dervish and gather bearings.

Such intense, hectic music likely works best in a live setting, where the sweaty, visceral qualities of tracks like Fix My Life –  a fevered four minutes that pulls the listener in by their gut lining –  will have a more pronounced effect. On record, by comparison, early exhilaration threatens to peter out into exhaustion, though smart sequencing largely helps sidestep this fate. Indeed, the chilled gait of Free Walk proves an album highlight less for its individual merits and more for the contrast it introduces. Nonetheless, this is as striking an introduction as you’re likely to make this year. Best join the party. [Chris Buckle]