Album Of The Week: Lifeguard 'Ripped And Torn'

Album Of The Week: Lifeguard 'Ripped And Torn'

There are people who make a fine living by closely monitoring this nation’s youth sports leagues in hopes of finding players to replenish America’s college and professional teams. I wonder if Matador Records has a similar program, but for potential next-generation indie rock stars? The tastemaking institution established its rep by plucking Pavement, Guided by Voices, and Liz Phair from the tape-trading micro-release deep underground, and in the…

Lifeguard - Ripped And Torn (Matador) - God Is In The TV

So, post-punk nostalgia seems to be having another moment. You know the story: a young band finds the classics, adds some dub and art-school noise, works on debut with a gatekeeper producer, then either vanishes or ends up opening for Fontaines D.C. But this is not Lifeguard‘s story. While the teenage trio from Chicago have all the usual ingredients—angular guitars, infectious exuberance, a fondness for This Heat and Swell Maps— they’re not revi…