Like most of Lou Reed‘s recordings, Legendary Hearts is for fans only, and the fans are folks who want to be challenged, not lulled. If you’re looking for five-octave vocals, soothing melodies, and hit-bound hooks, don’t come within a mile of Reed’s latest. But if you tend to go for the gritty, bare-bones guitar work and sardonic, streetwise lyrics of this punk/new wave progenitor, by all means, pick up Legendary Hearts.

The album is available here.