Like the finest groups of the original post-punk movement, Washington, D.C. quintet Gauche ratchet up the tension in their songs with nuance. Fond of the vivacious keyboard tones that debauched the B-52s’ early releases, Gauche also proffer the exhilarating, pent-up rhythmic attack, tart melodies, and taut bass lines heard in the work of X-Ray Spex, Essential Logic, and Swell Maps. And if you want to vent against Pizzagate instigator/Infowars pariah Alex Jones—and who doesn’t?—check out “Conspiracy Theories,” which boasts some of the most unhinged “fuck you”s in music this year. Gauche’s new album, A People’s History of Gauche, is one of the most electrifying LPs that Merge Records has released lately. by Stranger Writer Dave Segal