Cincinnati, you never stop surprising me.

I admit, with great sorrow, that I hadn’t really heard anything from Siren Suit before their newest release, Monstrous Chitterings, was sent over to the CincyMusic team to check out. At least one member is also part of Cincinnati band Old City, a band I enjoy. So that’s on me for not paying enough attention. And I absolutely should have been.

Listening through my first time, I was struck by all of the touchstone bands and musicians Siren Suit pulls from to create something very much their own. Gritty and melodic at the same time, there’s a not so subtle complexity to the way they weave these songs, and the album as a whole, together. At only 9 tracks, it’s lean and mean, energetic and adventurous - and, to be honest, leaves a listener wanting a hell of a lot more. The listener, it’s me. I want more.

Monstrous Chitterings feels like the logical amalgamation of bands like Quicksand, Braid, and Motorhead all coming together, hanging out with The Dismemberment Plan, then getting just drunk enough to make it all make sense. Album starters “Bandoliers” and “”Gods bring on the riffs, a little bit of off-time meandering, and plenty of attitude. “Tremendous Repentance” is a great track that slows things down just past the midway point of the album, then they get right back to the Rock and Roll Weirdness with “Bakewell.”

And look, I’ll come right out and say it - add an organ of some kind to a strangely frenetic track, and I’m in the bag. “Comet Ride” hits all the right notes for me and helps close out the album - along with the final track, “Spag West,” in fantastic fashion.

If you’re a fan of any of the bands I mentioned above, or want to see what kind of no-nonsense (okay, maybe a little nonsense - the band seems to be having a lot of fun) Rock is happening in Cincinnati right now, I can’t recommend Siren Suit’s Monstrous Chitterings strongly enough. Consider my attention caught, y’all.