Straight up, this is some of the best crusty, female-sung pop-punk in recent memory. Small Bones are from New Orleans, and they have finally made the big-time with their self-titled Plan-It-X debut. It delivers.

The most striking thing about the album is the contrast between the pop-punk instrumentation and the gruff, grinding vocals. The guitar riffs are catchy enough that you expect the songs to be sugary sweet, but as soon as the singing starts, you're hit with some powerful crust that hits even harder given your expectations. Imagine taking a bite of what you thought was going to be cake but instead was wasabi. Only imagine that that was fucking awesome. That is this band.

Anyways, the songs are all consistently good straight through. The most notable song is "Cold War Storage," where the band begins for the first 45 seconds with a gang-chant without any instruments. This winds up embarrassing for many bands, but Small Bones pull it off with seeming ease, and it definitely solidifies the middle of the record. I should also point out that the last song is entitled, "Minor Street Repairs & Dinosaurs: A Comprehensive Recovery Strategy." Seriously, why haven't you bought this album already?

Unfortunately, Small Bones just decided to take a temporary break with their last show for a while being in New Orleans with Screaming Females. These guys put on a great show, so make sure to catch it if you are in the area. If not, pick up this album as soon as humanly possible. It's easily one of the best of the year.