Bent Shapes make cloyingly urgent buttoned-up indie pop with an ideologically punk and socially conscious bent. On Wolves Of Want, the Boston band’s sophomore album, they take on scene politics (“Realization Hits“), narcissistic social media culture (“What We Do Is Public“), the right way to discuss and manage anxiety throughout. The group is centered around the fruitful creative partnership between Ben Potrykus and Andy Sadoway, and the two play off each other throughout wonderfully, with Potrykus’ voice echoed in each nervy arrangement. The record is populated by a cast of characters that wouldn’t feel out of place in a Whit Stillman film; the lyrics are biting and introspective and sharp at each turn. On the last track, they come up with what may be my favorite phrasing on the record: “There’s no neutral narrative/ Or at least that’s what I’ve been parroting in so many words (mostly intransitive verbs)/ And only ’cause hyperbole… well, it’s like, literally the worst.” That buildup to a downbeat punchline happens time and time again on Wolves Of Want, and it never loses its luster. Listen to the new record via Noisey below.

Wolves Of Want is out 3/11 via Slumberland Records. Pre-order it here.