SOMETIMES YOU CAN'T AVERT YOUR EARS:

The Mendoza Line's 30 Year Low: Torn-apart lovers shoot out the lights, each other (Jason Gross, August 21st, 2007, Village Voice)

Artists usually dis fans who pick apart their "break-up albums," but denial's pointless with this Brooklyn band's powerful ninth (and final) record: It's the gruesome aftermath of a contact-sport affair. If singers and ex-partners Tim Bracy and Shannon McArdle matched their music to their emotions, they'd be grinding out ear-pounding death metal instead of 30 Year Low's country rock to match the cruelty they unleash.