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At 1:32 a.m. last Valentine’s Day, a demo titled “Oxford Comma” by a band of Columbia University buds was posted on the blog Music for Robots. Good Weather for Airstrikes reposted the song, with two others, a month later, declaring Vampire Weekend “the best unsigned band in New York City.” In June, The New York Times weighed in with a smitten live review.

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Their '90s pedigree (two members played in emocore act Yaphet Kotto) will likely always get Saviours tagged as mere hipster metal. This once seemed unfair ("Circle of Servants Bodies," their track on the excellent 2006 Kemado comp Invaders, slayed).

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With propulsive pogo-worthy rhythms and singer Adele Bethel's insistent vocals, these rough-edged folk punks go for a quick knockout on their poppier second album (produced by Suede's Bernard Butler).

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Careening between luxuriant melodies and irritating noise, Xiu Xiu albums are iffy by design. On Women as Lovers, closely miked vocals vie for attention with arpeggiated guitar ("F.T.W."), aggressive whistling ("Child at Arms"), random percussion ("The Leash"), and what sounds like air escaping from an overblown balloon ("F.T.W." again).