Having talented friends is very rarely a drawback, and while don't need much help in order to make a good album, that doesn't mean it's not good to have some likeminded pals drop by. ' third album, 2019's , has a broader and more diverse sound than their previous LPs, and at least in part, that has to do with the many guests who stopped by for these sessions, including and of , , and , among others. Some bands lose focus when too many other musicians join them in the studio, but on sound as strong and defiant as ever, as the guests reinforce what they do rather than distract from it. On their first two albums, the band sounded like an inspired amalgam of , and early filtered through the perspective of a smart but utterly unpretentious garage band, and here they've added a few more ambitious angles without spoiling the formula or losing sight of their strengths. are still a strapping guitar team, sharp and complementary whether there's a third player on deck or not, and bassist and drummer hit hard but generate a groove rather than just clamor. is a beautifully corrosive exercise in ominous rumble, bracing noise, switchblade guitars, and lyrics whose wit never dilutes their rancor, while the production (strong recordings full of echo and reverb mixed with an eye toward disorienting stereo placement) doesn't file down the edges but keeps them sharp enough to do the job. Apparently bad karma loves company, and the extra help in the studio has only made ' vision tougher and snarkier than before, and on , that's clearly a good thing. ~ Mark Deming