Those of you lucky enough to have caught The Blood Arm's recent Dublin gig will be aware that the LA quartet don't do things by halves. Though their sound may not be nearly as grisly as their name would perhaps suggest, frontman Nathaniel Fregoso's irrepressible onstage temerity is enough to terrify even the most cocksure of spectators. On record, however, it's a different story; the campest man in music since Rufus Wainwright may lose his capacity to work a crowd, but thankfully, his enthusiasm remains fully intact. If you haven't heard their music, you'll at least have heard The Blood Arm's name before - last year, they were the name for indie bands to drop (Franz Ferdinand are noted fans, as are Art Brut, amongst others) - yet, while ploughing a similar, angular post-punk furrow to their contemporaries, Fregoso and co. manage to somehow put their own distinct spin on the by-now fatigued genre. Their second album Lie Lover Lie (which follows 2004's self-financed debut Bomb Romantics) is an unrelenting blast of Californian surf-rock, post-punk swagger, classic pop melodies and utterly addictive choruses, all pinned together by Dyan Valdes's unfaltering piano flutters. Fregoso's oft-sleazy, yet admittedly, limited quiver lends itself beautifully to mid-paced stomp Stay Put!; the almost childlike-yet-arse-jigglingly-good refrain of Suspicious Character showcases his talent for a tongue-in-cheek lyric ('I like all the girls and all the girls like me'), while the clipped, subtle staccato of the superb Mass Murder is knee-jerkingly epic. Disillusioned with Duran Duran's later output? Relive former glories with P.S. - I Love You But Don't Miss You, a song which could easily have soundtracked any 80s Bond or action movie. Want to wind down? Try Going To Arizona, a bittersweet, country-hued number that uses group vocals and stripped down acoustica to fab effect. Don't get too comfortable, though - there's just far too much on Lie Lover Lie to dance to, and it's not like you have a choice. By all means, see them live if you can; in the meantime, stick this on and dance around your living room like your arse is on fire.
