Hungry Ghost

This is the kind of underground rock album we’ve been waiting for. The nine-song offering from the Portland trio is an exhilarating listen filled with gritty, urgent guitar work and powerful vocals from all three members. Highlights include the opening track, “Powerman,” and the catchy “High,” with its reminder that Everyone gets themselves high on something. You can’t hide. Throughout the album, Sara Lund provides complex, thunderous percussion that echoes her work with her late, great band, Unwound. Meanwhile, Andrew Price contributes muscular, psychedelic guitar parts that recall masters such as Zeppelin and Sabbath. The energy coursing through this record feels born solely out of joy and the need to create for its own sake — a purity of motive that is a joy to behold.