Most rocknroll records can be traced back to some specific place and time, but very few provide evidence of their exact origin. "I guess he doesnt have a gun," a tiny voice chirps giddily on what sounds like a cassette player recording. "Do you think he has a gun? Yes! He shot himself! Were listening to Nirvana and, as you know, Kurt Cobain... POW!" The voice belongs to Alex Levine, bassist for New York punk omnivores the So So Glos, kicking off their heart-racingly enjoyable new album Blowout. The snippet was recorded when Levine was seven, at the start of an abrupt and confusing changing of the guard in rock. In the wake of Cobains suicide, alternative music started looking much different than it had before, as punk got poppier and alt-rock proper got angrier. For twentysomethings making music today, this once maligned schism now feels whole, with likeminded bands like Wavves and the Titus Andronicus subtly paying their dues to the Hollands, Hoppuses, and Armstrongs (Tim and Billie Joe) of their youths. The So So Glos are also a proud result of this divide, where disaffection still lingers but never interferes with having fun. The So So Glos have zero interest in being sedated. On "Xanax", with its festive sha-la-las, sleigh bells, and cowpunk flourishes, frontman Alex Levine warns that "they just wanna dumb you down like I did." (Rounding the band out are Alex and Ryans step-brother Zach Staggers on drums and childhood friend Matt Elkin on guitar.) The So So Glos are clever without being cheeky, sincere without being preachy, self-aware but never too in on their own joke. Still, their most endearing trait is a simple one: They make murderously catchy, endorphin-boosting, shout-along guitar music with vigor and zeal, breaking in their Doc Martens with a mid-song skank on the title track and goofing with Strokes-y cool on "Speakeasy". Thanks to their DIY background, the 12 songs on Blowout foster an immediate sense of community, with love and enthusiasm pumping fiercely at the heart of these songs. If youve spent any time over the past few years at NYC venues like Shea Stadium or the Market Hotel (both of which the band helped co-found), theres a good chance youve not only caught a So So Glos set, but felt that same energy.