VaGiants

If lust at first sight has a soundtrack, this is it. If there’s one record to take a chance on this year, this is it. Sadly, this Winnipeg band are now defunct, but that doesn’t mean their music still isn’t so fucking good you’ll be sweating over these new tracks. This is straight up sleaze rock full of riotous, raunchy riffs and back alley wails that at times starts sounding a lot like the Pandoras after they got over that ’60s mod phase and moved onto the likes of the Stooges and the Sonics. Vocalist Joanne Rodriguez has a quality that goes beyond whiskey-and-cigarettes — it’s more like a week-long bender that ends face down on the bathroom floor, while guitarist Craig Bjerring pierces each song with wild sounds that remain a focal point throughout the album. Mastered in New York City by Don Grossinger (MC5, Sonic Youth, Bad Brains), Waiting for the Night to Come is full of crushing rock’n’roll symphonies. The energy doesn’t let up and each track has just as much ass-shaking allure as the last.