Call Me Lightning: Soft Skeletons

Forget everything you think you know about Milwaukee bands. Call Me Lightning bludgeons any notions of beer, cheese, and bad sports teams by releasing one of the dirtiest punk rock albums in recent memory.

Their second album, Soft Skeletons (Frenchkiss), is a successful attempt at trumping 2004’s The Trouble We’re In, an admirable debut that put to use the band’s obsession with the Birthday Party and Les Savy Fav. The result is a tighter, more guitar-driven album that, like its predecessor, is always just a second away from breaking down into a Call Me Lightning-trademarked slaughterhouse chorus.

Despite the sudden interest in production techniques, the band stays true to form in all the aspects that made the puzzle fit together in the first place. The terrific energy of their live shows is captured in songs like “Meet the Skeletons” and “Billion Eyes” with their anarchic guitars and pounding drum beats.

And at five minutes and 22 seconds, “Soft Skeletons” is Call Me Lightning at their most epic moment. When Lilley screams “Fuck!” near the 4:29 mark, try to pick yourself up because this album can’t be listened to while lying down. Remove all breakable objects, lock the door, and turn up the speakers.

- Mike Affholder
Call Me Lightning (Frenchkiss Records)