Youth Man

Youth Man | Courtesy of the artist

Sounds Like: U.K. kids tinkering with the ill-angled tantrums of of L.A., D.C. and San Diego punk.

For Fans of: Future of the Left, Dead Kennedys, 400 Blows

Why You Should Pay Attention: Boldly dubbing themselves “the loudest live band in the U.K.,” gnashing trio Youth Man stand in sharp contrast to the croony “B-Town” indie rock bands like Peace and Swim Deep. Their brand of punk leans heavily towards the weirdos (not the Weirdos) of early California hardcore, in which bands like Fear weren’t too afraid (or too unskilled) to throw in an odd time signature. Since dropping their first music in 2012, Youth Man have opened for Pissed Jeans and Sleaford Mods.

They Say: Youth Man have been releasing a steady stream of singles and EPs ”” second extended play, the five-track Hill of Knives, is due in August ”” but have yet to commit to a full-length album. “Everybody these days has a short attention span. We do too,” says singer Kaila Whyte. “Plus nobody has offered us enough money yet.” Lead single “Skin” is only 77 seconds long, but for bassist Miles Cocker, it will last a lifetime ”” for the video, he gave himself a tattoo. “It was like watching someone poke themselves with an inky needle. Over, and over, and over, and over,” says drummer Marcus Perks. Adds Whyte, “We were all pretty drunk by then so it’s a slightly hazy memory.”

Hear for Yourself: The jittery “Skin” yowls, churns, and explodes with feedback ”” but its irregular pulse includes tricky bars of 5/4. By Christopher R. Weingarten