Be prepared for some challenging, progressive avant-garde post-hardcore with Stylish Nihilists, Christiansen's third album. This four-piece out of Louisville, Kentucky do NOT utilize catchy hooks, screams, or heavy breakdowns. No, they've not chosen the ordinary path that's so prevalent these days, but rather have opted for a sound that is a little jagged around the edges, and that's ok. In fact, it's a welcome change.

More to the point, vocalist Brandon's poetical, obscure, and thought-provoking lyrics are enmeshed in a storm of swirling, dueling guitars, steady bass, and spot-on drumming that brings to mind pioneering bands like At The Drive-In and Sparta. The moody and affecting "Dead Celebrities Are Amusing" is the true tour de force of the album, but other notables include the opener "Kentucky Goddamn", which actually includes some grind-like guitar parts, "The Middle Finger", and "Tragedy My Novella", a track that features a killer ending. One song, the humorously titled "Jhazz Never Spelled So Good", first appeared on their 2002 Forensic Brothers And Sisters EP.

While some songs are more chaotic like "Kentucky", "Under Things Killed", and "A Considerable New Message" for example, there are plenty of offerings that are slower and a little more sedate, including "Dead Celebs", "Cocaine Summer", and the finale "More Saints Less Musicians", but are still extremely powerful. On this last song as well as "Dead Celebs", Glassjaw's frontman Daryl Palumbo guests. And I touched upon the complex nature of the lyrics, but that's not to say there aren't subtle (and not-so-subtle) witticisms now and then. The best line actually appears during the finale: "Screw the poppy emo / Poppy's meant for smoking." Classic.

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