Former Vivian Girls/Best Coast drummer Ali Koehler had been hinting at the possibility of forming her own project ever since she released a couple of tracks on her personal bandcamp account back in 2011. After a relatively quiet period, she’s steadily grown into her own just like her former bandmates with her own band Upset, a slyly crafted brand of cherubic pop punk fueled with insatiable hooks and nimble, fuzzed-out guitars reminiscent of beloved nineties local trio The Muffs with echoes of K Records cult favorites Tiger Trap. Though Koehler may be endowed by nature with an ear for melody, the songs do have an extra kick to them thanks to the support of the bandmates she’s enlisted, which include former hole drummer Patty Schemel and former La Sera guitarist Jenn Prince. Produced by Kyle Gilbride (who plays with emo revivalists Swearin’ and produced Waxahatchee’s breakthrough Cerulean Salt), She’s Gone (out on October 29th via Don Giovanni) is supercharged with the kind of crunchy noise pop that’s hard to escape once you’re engulfed in it. See them play live at Echoplex on October 24th at the Echoplex. – Juan Rodríguez