For a while there, it seemed like heavier rock could only be one of two things: derivative, irritating, and juvenile thrash, or twisted, experimental, and entirely unlistenable avant-garde indie rock. Now, thankfully, we can welcome back tough, visceral, and grown-up sounds via You Can't Fight What You Can't See, the sixth record from Girls Against Boys. <p>

Four years removed from <i>Freak*On*Ica</i>, the band's solitary major label outing, GVSB returns with the hallmark components of its early '90s Touch & Go days: piercing guitar riffs, frequent attacks of twin basses, surging percussion, and a heavy dose of vocal sass from Scott McCloud. The refrain on "All the Rage" -- set atop screeching bursts of lip-curling guitar and verbalized in McCloud's raspy and potently careless voice -- goes "Pussycat, what's new?" <p>

Three superb moments distinguish this set within the ample GVSB catalog. "BFF" (that's "best friends forever" for those who don't remember their '80s yearbook signings) rides dark and pulsing bass through plaintive verses ("We share a cigarette/ And I can't breathe again") into an impassioned guitar solo and a heaven-referencing chorus that makes for one of the prettiest moments the band's produced to date. "Kicking the Lights" opens with Alexis Fleisig's thumping drums in the limelight before launching into another soaring chorus replete with shimmering power chords. Suddenly, the chaos dissolves into "Let it Breathe," a perfect hangover ballad to cap the most sublime adult rock experience one can hope to find these days.<p>

Peter Gaston<br>
CDNOW Associate Editor