Let’s just put this out there up top: this is a side project of the already notably prolific Minnesota noise-punk ensemble The Blind Shake. Yet Shadow in the Cracks, comprising brothers Jim and Mike Blaha, isn’t exactly a complete departure from the shrieking rippers that have made the duo’s main squeeze one of the most pleasingly consistent bands going in the garage/punk/noise-rock underground. There are some noteworthy distinctions between the two outfits that place Shadow in the Cracks (Goner Records) firmly on its own two feet and maybe off to the side a little from the overall Blind Shake catalog. Both bands trade in a sort of Cimmerian angst and there are hooks in each group’s repertoire, but you have to find your way through a certain amount of sonic fury before seeing the light. But whereas The Blind Shake have a surf-y punch combined with a muscular sense of melody underpinning the ire, Shadow in the Cracks strips things way down to a raw, exposed throb. On tracks like “Timeless,” “Planted Flowers,” and the duo’s eponymous number, one can hear the mutated dance-floor attack of UK post-punk bands like The Pop Group or even A Certain Ratio—if those bands were more indebted to, say, The Oblivians more than King Tubby. And while the album does have one or two straightforward punk bangers, it’s at its most harrowing when the brothers get way deep into the muck and black stuff to roll around like pigs in shit. Whether or not this is just a creative way to pass the time or a rough sketch of where the Blind Shake is headed, Shadow in the Cracks is a record worth hearing, and this pair of artists seems to have quickened their creative stride and are now at a full-blown gallop.