The name implies a no-bullshit, blue-collar attitude, and the band’s press photos exude an industrious, Amish vibe. But don’t be deceived: Parts & Labor will thwack you with advanced-degree math rock anytime. The New York trio has macheted its way through Brooklyn’s dense thicket of vapid hipsters and talent-deficient trustafarians, forging a high-impact, high-energy sound that’ll make you feel like Nietzsche’s übermensch.

P&L’s most recent disc, Stay Afraid, clangs, churns, and soars like Hüsker Dü’s version of “Eight Miles High” or even the mighty space-rock of Oneida. Employing guitar, drums, vocals, and electronics, Parts & Labor’s live show feels like standing in the path of onrushing solar flares: Your hair and ears will take a while to readjust afterward, but it’s worth the singed follicles and melted cartilage.

This article appears in Dec 6-12, 2006.