Lars Finberg refuses to stop pumping out great rock, 16 years into his tenure as the Intelligence’s mastermind. The 2011 Stranger Music Genius—now a California resident—keeps his winning streak going with Un-Psychedelic in Peavey City, a typically sardonic title for songs that find Finberg and company purveying alluringly prickly music and wry lyrics. LP opener “L’appel Du Vide” sets the bar high with a funky rhythm nicked off Billy Squier’s “The Big Beat” and caustically spangling guitars that recall the mighty This Heat. It represents a new peak for the Intelligence’s 10-album catalog, and leads a collection of songs that, against the odds, make rock seem barbed and mysterious. by Dave Segal