With its signal flare riffs, interlocking rhythms and rumbling, eyes-on-the-stratosphere majesty, "Limbs"-- the lead-off track from D.C. experimental punk trio Imperial China's third album, How We Connect-- sounds like Mirrored-era Battles covering "Cherub Rock" at a space shuttle launch. Matt Johnson and Brian Porter's dueling guitars spit blowtorch sparks, as Patrick Gough's frantic drumming drives the track's escalating energy. Like any band making punk music in D.C., Imperial China's sound pays subtle respect to its local forbearers; you can hear traces of Fugazi in Porter's hollered vocals ("Think I'll live forever!"). But those comparisons only go so far. As the intrepid energy of "Limbs" affirms, Imperial China are charting a course for some as-yet-unexplored piece of the sky.