Through a Wall

*Through a Wall* opens with the sound of rapturous, arena-sized applause. But the rock-star reverie is rudely interrupted by a voice blurting “shut up”—and we’re instantly hurtled back into London, Ontario, punks Single Mothers’ familiarly dank universe via the sludgy pummel of “Marathon.” Even coming from a band whose most charismatic quality has always been their crankiness, *Through a Wall* is an unrelentingly surly record: The grime-coated production and murderous hardcore energy give frontman Andrew Thomson’s ravaging rants an even more serrated age on blitzkrieg strikes like “Dog Parks” and “Catch & Release.” However, momentary relief from the onslaught arrives in the form of “Stoic / Pointless,” a lost-youth lament that dials down the velocity but greatly increases the emotional wallop.

For a band like Single Mothers, the space between too little and too much is where their music has thrived; they're self-aware enough to sel...