In Brief

*** Red Aunts, “#1 Chicken,” Epitaph. The Long Beach quartet blasts through an infectious set that’s equal parts punk crunch and sassy smarts. Dispensing with old tough-chick cliches and new riot grrrls-club cliches, the Aunts (who open for Voodoo Glow Skulls on Thursday at the Palace) follow the beach-punk tradition of Agent Orange and Circle Jerks, but with enough spirit to keep life in the mosh pit from getting old.

New albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent).