Artist: Showbread Album: No Sir, Nihilism is Not Practical Label: Solid State Records Rating: 8 out of 10

With matching red-and-black getups and self-consciously arty song titles (“A Llama Eats a Giraffe (and Vice Versa)”; “If You Like Me Check Yes, If You Don’t I’ll Die,” etc.), Showbread are just asking for it with their debut album, No Sir, Nihilism is Not Practical. Thankfully for this band of hardcore-screamo-punk newcomers, they’re good enough not to deserve it. Witness MP3 single “Dead By Dawn,” on which singers Josh Dies and Ivory Mobley recount the bloody story of Sam Raimi’s classic “Evil Dead” movies over pounding drums, throttling guitars, and gurgly synth. An explosion of blood and noise, Showbread manage to make their song almost as creepy as the movie that inspired it, as they scream: “Such pretty skin, give it to us./ The son won’t rise, my spirit dies./ All hope has withdrawn./ So here I lay because either way I know we’ll all be dead by dawn.” “Welcome to Plainfield Tobe Hooper” the album’s other obvious horror-movie reference is nearly as musically violent with its bludgeoning drum beat and stabs of raw guitar. On the fastest songs, Showbread come across like an even crazier version of psycho-punkers Zeke; on others, the lightning-quick tempos and fleet-fingered bass lines recall Rancid at their circle-pit best. But perhaps no band’s influence is felt so strongly here as the late The Refused, who pioneered the fusion of hardcore, punk and techno that these guys have clearly embraced. But whereas The Refused were almost solely about sonic destruction, Showbread also display a keen ear for melody and an appreciation for sonic beauty. “The Missing Wife” in addition to providing a mid-album breather amidst the chaos is surprisingly heartfelt and touching. Over a gently-picked electric guitar seemingly engineered to sound like a ukelele, Dies delivers a warm, intimate vocal performance. “No hands to hold within my own./ No second soul inside our home,” he sings. “We’ll walk beside the crystal sea./ Myself for my love, and my love for me.” However, the band’s greatest accomplishment here is “And the Smokers and Children Shall Be Cast Down.” Over the course of the mini-epic’s multiple movements, Showbread display more creativity than their scenester peers usually do in an entire album. Opening with a skittery electronic beat and chiming waves of organs and guitars, the song suddenly explodes into crashing rock topped with soaring vocals; then the drums break into a march with clean-toned electrics strummed in time; and then warm synth washes over the whole processional. It’s the construction, demolition and recreation of a glass cathedral, all in five thrilling minutes. Of course, not everything on No Sir is quite so innovative and powerful how could it be? but it’s never boring or trite. And the lyrics full of frightening imagery, wrenching heartbreak, and spiritual searching elevate the proceedings to another level. Whether you call it post-hardcore or screamo, there’s no denying that one of the fledgling genre’s future leaders have arrived, and their name is Showbread. - Todd Thatcher