Triple X Audio is like the kid who comes back from summer vacation six inches taller. Just last fall, their first album, Like Pumping Gas On Fire, seemed like a good start, blending a crash of guitars with Denise Maupin's melodic but hard-rocking vocals. Now, with The Wreckage and Reclamation EP, this Seattle-based foursome has taken a giant step forward, moving away from a rough-edged punk-oriented sound toward smoother, heavier rock anthems, still built on a wiry structure. Part of Wreckage and Reclamation's strength comes from the fact that it's not just Maupin's show any more, if indeed it ever was. The instruments have been moved way up in the mix, for one thing -- from the killer bass solo that launches "Kicks" to the spiralling guitar riff at the center of "Measure of Regret" to the chugging rhythms and siren call of "Pawned". There's a dual vocal tucked into the title track, and even harmonies; it's just a far richer, more varied sound than before. However, the fact that you can hear the other parts in no way diminishes Maupin's contribution. She still has one of the most distinctive female rock voices I've heard in a while, somehow combining Deborah Harry's knowing wink with the full frontal assault of Mia Zapata. All of the songs are thoroughly satisfying. "Kicks" is a meandering, heavy-booted stomp through heartbreak, anchored by Dan Infecto's bass riff and Lee Taylor's pile-driver beat. That leaves Maupin and guitarist Brian Burnside free to roam, building sonic mountains and castles out of the choruses and breaks. "Measure of Regret" follows a staccato, anxiety-ridden riff through the verse, then builds into a half-shouted "Get out! Get out! Get out!" chorus. It's the contrast between the precise and delicate and the loud and chaotic that make this track work -- a sense of structure that permeates even the most untrammeled moments. In "Wreckage", Burnside sings alongside Maupin, their nervous dialogue about sleep and breakdown echoed in the guitar line. "Pawned" takes this sense of threat a step further in its evil-sounding interplay between bass and drums and the itchy-twitchy guitars under Maupin's voice. Then, somehow, the whole thing sweetens and stretches into a classic rock chorus. The real surprise, however, is "Fingers Crossed", a slow and shimmery ballad that calls to mind the slower Pretenders songs. Triple X Audio (try getting that band name through your spam filter) is coming on fast. They recently won Seattle Weekly's "Best Indie Rock/Garage Band" award, and this EP is by far the best thing they've ever done. If you want to be early on this one, you'd better get a move on. -- Jennifer Kelly

Their just-released follow-up EP, Wreckage and Reclamation (like Pumping, on Mattress Actress Music), is an eye-opening--and -gouging--improvement, weighted with steamroller bass lines courtesy of newcomer Dan Infecto. The five tracks tread confidently between call-to-arms radio rock ("The Kicks," "Measure of Regret") and haunted shipwreck dirges ("Fingers Crossed"). It's the sort of intricately crafted Molotov that can really only do damage with years of experience and experimentation.