Album Of The Week: Model/Actriz Pirouette

The way Cole Haden commands a stage, you might not guess the band he fronts sounds anything quite like Model/Actriz. The Brooklyn quartet broke through with their 2023 debut Dogsbody, a haunting, gnarly update on aughts dance-punk replete with piercing feedback and industrial flourishes that often took the forefront. “A body count higher than a mosquito,” he proclaimed on album highlight “Mosquito,” likening the pursuit of sex to something as nagging as a seemingly inescapable, blood-sucking parasite. But in spite of the grating noise and graphic lyrics of Dogsbody, Haden doesn’t assume his role in Model/Actriz quite like a Trent Reznor or a David Yow. He’s more like… well, did you see Lady Gaga’s “Abracadabra” video?