The Trembling

Purity, simplicity, integrity -- three things that aren't so chic in the realms of punk and indie rock right now. But amid a flood of packaged, plastic pretension, Michigan's the Trembling isn't afraid to shoot straight from the brain and heart. With all the head-rush riffs of Superchunk and tart delectability of Bratmobile, the coed trio has spent the past five years hammering out a sound that crumples post-punk and power pop into an edgy, compelling punch of joyous noise. Its new full-length, Art for the Masses, is a glorious holdover from an era when the DIY ethos and accessibility weren't mutually exclusive -- and shit like the Bravery would have gotten laughed out of town. The group will appear at Breakdown tonight alongside fellow Michigan act Occasional Detroit, Minneapolis's Brother and Sister, and Denver's own Page 27. Screw the impeccably mussed and fashionably lax; the Trembling is here to strip it bare, crank it out and fuck it up.