XBXRX

When XBXRX formed in 1998, its members were fresh-faced teenagers spasming around small stages. Seven years have passed, the baby fat has melted, and dozens of personnel changes have resulted in the inclusion of drummer Weasel Walter (of the Flying Luttenbachers), who raises the band's average age somewhat. But a maniacal youthfulness runs through this winningly abrasive album, the group's second full-length. The singer—who, like most of his bandmates, keeps his name a mystery—screeches in a high-pitched eruption somewhere between a barnyard animal having its tail sliced off and several demigods of heavy metal being dropped into hot oil. The words—not that you can decipher them, but thankfully the album comes with a lyrics insert—limn familiar teen themes of rebellion and defiance. One song, "Breathing," declares, "No we can't let them hold us back!" while "Sixth Extinction" contains the drill-team–esque chant "For! Ev! Er! Teen!"

The songs. Are short. (Ninety seconds is the average.) And really loud. The guitar distortion is maxed out, the drums are thrash-quick fusillades, and the tracking is relentless: Songs follow right on the heels of other songs, with scarcely a half second in between. It's probably impossible for any album to approximate the body-hurling chaos of XBXRX's live shows, but Sixth in Sixes' 26 minutes of mayhem does achieve exhilarating, mind-clearing heights of youthful noise.—Sara Marcus

XBXRX plays the Knitting Factory Thu 15.