One of these days, we're going to learn. In 2010, when Carrie Brownstein and Janet Weiss teamed up with Mary Timony and Rebecca Cole to form Wild Flag, it seemed like a fun substitute for Sleater-Kinney. Except that Wild Flag self-titled album was fucking amazing -- a giddy burst of power-pop hooks and guitar-hero theatrics. It was great on its own, not just as an addendum to another band's legacy. Then when Timony, late of Wild Flag (and Helium and Autoclave and a solo career), formed Ex Hex with Betsy Wright and Laura Harris, that seemed like a fun substitute for Wild Flag. Except then Ex Hex's 2014 debut Rips was fucking amazing, too -- a riot of '70s punk riffs and starburst hooks. And now that Ex Hex haven't done much lately, bassist Betsy Wright has branched off and formed the new band Bat Fangs with drummer Laura King, it might be tempting to think about their new album in terms of the new Ex Hex album that we're not getting. That would be a mistake, and it would be a mistake that we've made before. Because Bat Fangs kick fucking ass on their own terms. And if Laura King goes off and forms a new band of her own in a couple of years, that'll probably rule, too. That seems to be how this thing works.