Soul-Junk: 1953

Soul-Junk formed in 1994, as former Truman's Water bassist Glen Galaxy decided to found an indie-rock band devoted entirely to his love of Jesus Christ. The albums that followed were a natural progression of Truman's Water's rambling, unpredictable cacophony: They were spastic and modestly produced, but with enough form to allow Galaxy's sung recitations of Bible verses a chance to be heard. The new 1953 (Soul-Junk's fourth full-length in less than three years) improves on its predecessors in two key ways: First, while it's filled with oddball tricks like the occasional rap vocal or low-rent keyboard loop, it's more musically digestible for the masses. It's chunkier and heavier overall, though the band still plays without the slightest trace of irony. And second, while last year's 1952 was a double-length CD with an additional vinyl album counterpart (a lot of Jesus to take in one sitting), 1953 is a concise 36 minutes of musically inventive, often compelling indie-rock noise. Think 36 minutes is a raw deal for your dollar Scan a minute or two after the end of "Graveyard Style," and there's 1954—a 42-minute bonus album. Not a bonus track, but a bonus album, and a pretty good one at that.