The Secret Life is a promising rough draft. Within just 23 minutes, this Portland trio summons the ghosts of The Raincoats, The Slits, and various post-punk greats. So many elements click: contorted rhythms that stop and start on a dime, stark, minimalist basslines that never waste a note, and Osa Atoe’s violin melodies that shift between menace and comfort (best heard on “Doubles” and “The Cycle Song”). Unfortunately, the disc’s vocals lack the same passion. They range from strained punk rage to flat dirges that often shortchange the lyrics. Still, the New Bloods have the potential to be an ace party band for any dank basement beneath a punk squatter’s sleeping floor.