Bloody Hollies

Fire at Will, the 2003 album from Buffalo's Bloody Hollies, came on like a rabid wolverine that reduced "AC/DC-or-Ramones" debates to hair-splitting. Most of If Footmen Tire You is similarly speedy stuff, with wired guitar leads that sound as if singer/guitarist Wesley Doyle is in the throes of the first switch of the electric chair. But from the get-go, the band swings more ("Watch Your Head") and attempts a facsimile of rhythmic dynamics ("Right Between the Eyes," "Mind Control"). Doyle also reigns in his screech, so at times he echoes Jack White -- though with fewer Victorian mannerisms. But there's also a dark core to the band that exposes itself most on the fuzz-blues of the last tune; expect remorseful murder ballads soon. For now, the Bloody Hollies are still rabid for the fast action.