Viking's Choice: Milk Teeth, 'Swear Jar (Again)'

Hit shuffle on Milk Teeth's debut album and you'll be blasted by sludgy pop-punk one moment, cinematic post-hardcore the next, before you wind up in a wild, grungy noise-rock squall. It's all tied together by bassist Becky Blomfield's disaffected alto, which brings to mind Shirley Manson on a not-so-sunny day. "Swear Jar (Again)," which also features guitarist Josh Bannister on backing vocals — he's since left the group — is the Bristol band in Weezer bummer mode, with chunky, Big Muff'd guitars played at a slo-mo headbanger's pace and heavily worn vulnerability.

"This is one of the first tracks we ever wrote as a band, and one that's never left our set list," Blomfield writes. "We are super excited for you to hear it on NPR."

Vile Child comes out Jan. 29 on Hopeless. The band goes on tour with Citizen, Sorority Noise and Turnover this spring.