Third record, same as the first: once again Peter Buck taps into garage gunk, three-chord ravers, and weirdo folk-psychedelia, all of which would find a home during the graveyard shift on college radio.

Buck's execution is a bit sharper on Warzone Earth than it was on 2012's eponymous debut, an impression somewhat strengthened by how the record is essentially divided in two, containing one noisier half and a spookier side.

Even with this (extremely) loose division, much of the album's charm derives from its messiness: Buck remains devoted to all the wild, odd sounds that started to fade around the time "Losing My Religion" made his band a household name.

Alternating between giddy throwaways and songs where their evident craft is passed off as incidental, Warzone Earth isn't meant as anything but a good little record -- something seemingly knocked off in a couple of sessions and meant to be consumed with a couple of six-packs -- but that modesty remains endearing because it has a human, soulful raggedness that resonates.