DIRECT HIT isn't a punk band so much as a collection of pureed grey matter. But this summer - with the help of Fat Wreck Chords - the Milwaukee-based group will make those mushy brains useful by releasing Wasted Mind: a 12-track concept album inspired by the warped sensibilities of such savage works as Burroughs' Naked Lunch and Thompson's Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas. Produced by All-American Rejects guitarist Mike Kennerty, Wasted Mind follows a cast of drug-addled, medicated and insane characters who check in and out of reality with reckless abandon. Musically it delivers on everything DIRECT HIT fans have come to expect: clever lyrical content, catchy hook-laden riffs, and driving pop-punk anthems. From "Forced to Sleep" to "Promised Land" to "Artificial Confidence," the massive polished sound of Wasted Mind begs to be sung/screamed along with.