Who would have thought that three guys sitting around watching the Damon Wayans military comedy Major Payne would be make for such a good music video?

San Jose’s Hard Girls take this ridiculous concept as the basis for their new video. It starts with some overt over-the-top comedic elements—the band members sitting on the couch gleefully emulating Wayans’s every move—and quickly progresses into all-out Apocalypse Now mental breakdowns.

The video, which was directed by Bob Vielma (Boboso, Shinobu), contains a level of absurdity that is almost the complete opposite of Hard Girls’ serious, nuanced music, which for some reason fits perfectly. Hard Girls have for the past couple years pushed the bounds of punk into new realms, mixing influences from Pavement, Silkworm and Swans into a raw, energetic package. Their musicianship is complex and innovative and yet contains the simple purity of sweaty, driving rock beats and guttural, honest vocals.

Bass player Morgan Herrell sings lead vocals on “Major Payne.” His voice has the cracking, hoarse quality of Blake Schwarzenbach’s early work with Jawbreaker, only with greater control and a better sense of pitch. “Major Payne” starts at a furious, upbeat tempo and is layered with interesting, experimental post-punk chords. After a minute and a half of being a relatively pop-oriented punk song, it departs into a tense, instrumental space-jam for the remaining two and a half minutes.

This video is a taste of Hard Girls, long-anticipated album, Isn’t it Worse, which is set to be released on Really Records this December.

The difference between brothers Nate and Sean Kavanugh’s two bands, the Kavanaugh Brothers Celtic Experience (a traditional Irish folk group) and the High Sea (an indie noise-pop trio) might seem vast, but it’s not—both groups equally create soul-wrenching, sing-along tunes that blur the line between sadness and joy, just in different ways.

The High Seas’s new EP, Good Loud Shout!, contains six new post-punk pop songs. The recordings are raw and sparse, an appropriate choice for the self-conscious lo-fi 90s indie rock influence (Pavement, Modest Mouse, Guided By Voices) found in their music. There’s plenty of distorted, angular guitar riffs, subtly complex structures and vocals drenched in infectious harmonies, but unlike many of their 90s forefathers, there’s an indie-folk element, which shouldn’t be a surprise considering their Celtic group.

One of the standout tracks, “Tears”, is one of the simpler, less dissonant, jangle-pop songs with a passionate shout-along chorus. The lyrics could easily pass for an Irish drinking song (“Tears of laughter are the very best kind. Tears of joy trail close behind”). The remainder of the songs revel more in dissonance to some degree. The perfect example is “Manic,” which features a jittery Modest Mouse-esc riff and spastic vocals. The guitar solo is a nice touch.