Chicago’s Thrill Jockey label built its name on the timely introductions of Trans Am, Tortoise, Rome, and Directions in Music to the post-rock world. But some of Thrill Jockey’s best releases are by Gaunt, a band of such mountainous rock, a relief could be carved out of its surface. Through three albums and numerous singles and EPs, Gaunt has crafted aural sculptures so strong that even fellow Columbus, Ohio, tough-guy rockers New Bomb Turks would have a hard time breaking them down. Gaunt’s pop-punk is under influences from Iggy to the Saints, from Buzzcocks to Descendants. Warner Brothers recognized Gaunt’s hit-making potential and signed the band for its fourth record, Bricks and Blackouts. Asinine radio stations and indifferent video channels aside, Warner should welcome Gaunt to its family of chart-toppers; from “97th Tear” to “Powder Keg Variety,” every one of Bricks and Blackouts’ 15 songs is a potential hit. Producers Brian Paulson and Tim Mac give Gaunt its cleanest sound to date (without scrubbing off all the grime), and singer-songwriter Jerry Wick (he of the perpetually broken heart) writes gritty songs as catchy as any of those mind-numbingly overplayed tunes by Foo Fighters or Blink 182. Watch Gaunt flex its musical muscle when the band plays with boogie-rock revivalists Nashville Pussy and Polyplush Cats at 10 p.m. Saturday, April 18, at the Black Cat, 1831 14th St. NW. $8. (202) 667-7960. (Christopher Porter)