Co-lead singer/keyboardist Johnny Whitney’s vocal cords must be hanging by a thread. His half-Banshee wail, half wounded-dog yelp, though, combines perfectly with fellow vocalist Jordan’s Blilie’s rumble. Where Whitney takes the high road, Blilie takes the low one.

The second single to be lifted from fourth album Young Machetes, ‘Lazer Life’ finds the Seattle quintet reverting to the manic street preaching of 2000 debut This Adultery Is Ripe. Sounding not unlike a ballsier Hot Hot Heat or a less prog-rock-influenced Mars Volta, The Blood Brothers also offer sweat and tears on a track that gives screamo a good name. Less suited for ringtone, one feels, than alarm call, ‘Lazer Life’ could wake the dead.

In San Diego’s CityBeat, Troy Johnson recommended the band’s Epicentre-headlining gig as his Plan A for that Saturday night. In noting that “very few bands match The Blood Brothers’ ability to create an intense, pummelling live show, abrasive screams and annihilating boogie rhythms included”, he made the rest of his column redundant. For who needs a Plan B when you’ve got a Plan A quite this good?

(4¼/5)