Diffuser Injury Loves Melody Lyrics

Cleveland rocks, but Massapequa, New York, has its moments. Just check out local heroes Diffuser, whose major-label debut lurches along in the tradition of early Queen, Mission of Burma, and Buck Pets, with its thundering metronomic beats, artfully intertwined guitar riffs, and high-decibel melodic hooks. Tomas Constanza croons his coming-of-age lyrics with an earnest urgency that unites the alt-rock dynamic excess of "Losers of the Year" with the 1960s pop inflections of "Tell Her This." The band, who dropped their old Flu 13 moniker in order to escape the glut of similarly named outfits, even closes with a hidden track that lovingly sends up '80s hair bands. Helmed by producer Don Gilmore (Eve 6, Lit, Pearl Jam) and mixer Machine (White Zombie, Pitchshifter), Injury Loves Melody is a promising blend of pristine pop and sonic dissonance that should make Massapequa proud. -Bill Forman