The North Atlantic

Wires In The Walls

[4/5] It’s been argued that it’s impossible to create anything wholly unique, and while that may be true, Michigan’s the North Atlantic are about as close as you can get. Equal parts driving and dissonant, the 11 songs on their debut, Wires In The Walls, recall everyone from Fugazi to Small Brown Bike, but the way the band fuse their influences is what makes their sound so compelling. Songs pause and stutter (“The Man Who Saved Your Ass”), delay-driven guitars squall (“Street Sweepers”) and instrumental ambience dissolves into unbridled chaos-and back again (“Cities”). Sure, Wires In The Walls isn’t instantly accessible or completely familiar, but what great work of art is? (WE PUT OUT) Jonah Bayer