Audio Mixer: Andrew James Vastola.

Recording information: Rocky Mountain Recorders; Uneven Studios.

Unknown Contributor Roles: Mark Hawkins; Alan Andrews.

On its restless 2007 debut, NO, NOT ME, NEVER, the Photo Atlas unveils its bristling brand of dance-punk. The Denver-based quartet wears its influences proudly, with an intense sound that owes a great debt to Fugazi, particularly on the uber-angular "Handshake Heart Attack" and "The Walls Have Eyes," which both find frontman Alan Andrews channeling Guy Picciotto via urgent, raspy yelps and sharp, stabbing guitar riffs. While the group is clearly in a lineage of ensembles such as the Rapture and Radio 4, the Photo Atlas's tight interplay and sheer punk energy point to a slightly different path than the one followed by those more established acts.

If you were determined to overthrow the dinosaurs of rock, what better way than with a barrage of fast and furious songs, aimed straight at the classic rockers' virtuosity. But even as the veteran rockers roared and flailed under this assault, the second prong of the attack was under way, encircling them with ferocious assaults of juttering rhythms and slashing guitars. By 1978 it was all over, the monsters of rock were forced from their fortresses on the charts, a pyrrhic victory, as most of the punk bands already littered the battlefield. Now classic rock is back in fashion in some circles, and it's time for the likes of the Photo Atlas to resurrect their elders' tried and true strategies, and take them down again. No, Not Me, Never, takes the Denver group out of the trenches and sends them on a search and destroy mission, armed with ten slash and burn songs. I'll spare you the modern comparisons, and state definitively instead, that the set sounds like it was recorded circa 1978/1979 by a band beholden to Gang of Four. Tinged by gloomy post-punk atmospheres, driven by the shock and awe rhythms of off-kilter beats counter-pointed by pulsating bass, the album's jittery feel never eases off. Stuttering guitar lines and fiery leads add to the discomfort, even as the powerful melodies jerk one like a puppet across the dancefloor. Considering the tension within the set, many of the numbers are incredibly infectious. The rabid "Electric Shock" is a decided stunner, the jagged glass "Light and Noise" pushes towards pop, while "She Was a Matador" is outright manic. Both "Red Orange Yellow" and "Broadcasting Feedback" are utterly compulsive, and "Cutback" anthemic. Like a cubist painting brought to life, a soundtrack for anxiety-ridden marionettes, Photo Atlas are a jangle of nerves and anxiety, their music as disjointed as the world itself seems. A set to shatter everything in its path. ~ Jo-Ann Greene