Front page photo by Jeff Worthen

The Kentucky trio Young Widows are plenty experienced: Across only three albums, they’ve designed a jigsaw of no wave and heavy metal, hardcore and shoegaze, each form scraping at and bleeding into another. That soundclash has never been more compelling than on Easy Pain, their forthcoming fourth LP (out May 13 via Temporary Residence Ltd). The record’s lead single, “Kerosene Girl,” is a devilish post-punk menace, its splintering and direct beat taunted by an anxious guitar line that scrapes itself into sheets of noise.

A tale of prurient obsession turned violent, “Kerosene Girl” is as every bit as addictive as its inspiration. Frontman Evan Patterson holds court like Nick Cave as the band writhes around him, heavy to the point that they always seem to be on the verge of splintering into formless madness. “Kerosene Girl” recasts the basics of rock ’n’ roll—drums, guitar, bass and a voice—into a steely anthem bigger than subject or source.