Mi Ami: Watersports

Mi Ami's debut full-length is equally as appalling as it is appealing. How does vocalist Daniel Martin-McCormick hit that yapping and womanly tone without wavering anywhere throughout the disc? At the onset of Watersports, "Echononecho" creates a blueprint for the clash of Martin-McCormick's unbearable vocal squelch over a palette of deep rhythms and no-wave war drums. By its very design the music elicits a physical response. But the screaming in "The Man in Your House" is a huge speed bump. "Pressure" and "White Wife" get the balance of gut-pummeling high- and low-end tension right, with drawn-out, fuguelike moments in rhythm. But the bombastic musical magnitude of the drums isn't enough to redeem the vocal assault on the ears. 2 stars.

Mi Ami plays with Untied States, and Thank You. $5. 10 p.m. Fri., March 6. 529. 404-228-6769. www.529atl.com.