While their name may allude to it, New Orleans-based indie outfit Big Rock Candy Mountain are anything but a group of folk-obsessed idlers in search of an idyllic hobo’s heaven. These gonzo rockers have got their own warped visions of paradise. Their debut album Hey Kid is a frenzied reverie swept up in a world of bliss, bedlam, spiky new wave and knifing prog rock. After luring you in with a liquid guitar and a chorus of “aahs,” it’s off to a world of ringing sirens, spacey synths, grinding guitars and explosive drums. The opening number “Rocketship” is pure sensory overload—chaotic, euphoric, overpowering and inescapable. The rest of the songs on Hey Kid are just as maddening. The hysterical opus, “I Am the Storm,” swims through a sea of feedback and trippy art punk, while the pulsating distortion of “Hey Kid Give Me Your Money” erupts into a vehement, overdriven freakout. Singer/keyboardist Michael Giardot orchestrates this histrionic voyage. His feverish drone and unhinged cries often shatter the insular world his “cooing” falsetto nearly creates. Giardot’s mates all match his mania. Bassist Stephen MacDonald’s punchy surges keep things danceable, and drummer Leo DeJesus’ Bonzo-meets-Stewart Copeland barrage rattles home the ricocheting riffs and jarring virtuosity of guitarist Andrew Hartstock. Check out the madcap closer “Bang Bang;” it’s sure to leave the sense reeling.

After seven frantic blasts, Hey Kid clocks in at just under 35 minutes. And while that may seem short, it’s hard to image that the brain could handle much more. Loud, audacious and unrelenting, in relatively no time at all you’ll either be teetering on the edge of psychosis or shaking your limbs uncontrollably. Beware!