In-your-face blast from band coming into its own

It’s a bit past 7 p.m. on a Tuesday, and Rich Castro has a beer and a wish.

“I just want to see all these years that I’ve put into this, all the times that I’ve argued with my wife and gone to band practice, all the girlfriends that I’ve lost and the experiences that I’ve missed because I did this, I just want to see it turn out, finally,” the drummer says over a brew at south-side sports bar Lucky’s Lounge. “And that’s this record.”

“This record” is the new album from Castro’s band, Vegas punks Surrounded By Thieves.

This self-titled release is a grown-man kind of record, reflective of the concerns of veteran, working-class musicians, guys who’ve been around the block, who have to juggle careers and families with the demands of playing shows until the early morning hours in a steadily gigging band now on its third album.

“An adult can relate to this album,” Castro says.

Standing by, bassist Erik Laux says, “I think we all identified with the songs and felt like they were from the heart.”

Surrounded By Thieves’ four members have to fight to make their music, and you hear it in their songs: These are tense, tightly wound jams, with touches of melody taking the edge off like a water chaser after a stomach-burning shot of bourbon.

The record anchors itself in the vast middle ground between idealism and reality.

Songs such as “Look Away,” which is about turning a blind eye to the struggle of others, and “Kelly Thomas Overdrive,” inspired by the fatal police beating of a homeless man, pose tough questions and offer no easy answers.

These tracks are countered, in terms of sentiment, by songs such as “Still the Same” and “Republic,” which armor themselves against the ugliness confronted elsewhere by adhering to the simple principle of pushing on, seeing things through.

Perseverance, then, becomes its own reward.

“Knowledge is nothing without experience,” frontman Brandon Buck sings on “Entitled,” underscoring this point. “Sings” might be putting it too mildly; the guy sounds as if he’s trying to expel every last feeling of frustration and exasperation through his vocal cords.

The album marks the recorded debut of guitarist Eric Raleigh, who brightens the band’s sound considerably with his alternately flamboyant and expressive playing.

Surrounded By Thieves will celebrate the record’s release with a show Saturday at the Double Down.

This band is an in-your-face live act.

And this is an in-your-face record.

“We didn’t hold back,” Laux says. “It just felt like there wasn’t really much to lose with being totally honest.”

Contact reporter Jason Bracelin at jbracelin@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0476. Follow on Twitter @JasonBracelin.