If you’re looking for 2012’s most powerful, innovative, guitar-heavy and all around kick-ass album, it’s gotta be “Ugly.” The New Jersey-based punk trio Screaming Females didn’t hold back at all when they released their fifth studio album with the help of notorious producer Steve Albini. The group, featuring Jarrett Dougherty on drums, King Mike on bass and Marissa Paternoster on guitar and vocals, has come a long way from their humble origins in the DIY New Brunswick basement scene. “Ugly” immediately sets itself apart from the rest of the Screaming Females’ discography, from the clean-cut choruses of “It All Means Nothing” to the energetic crescendos of “Leave It All Up to Me.” “Ugly’s” sound is also notably smoother and crisper, a result of Steve Albini’s influence as well as the band’s advanced musical skill, which has improved in leaps and bounds since their first self-recorded album “Baby Teeth.” Overall, the sound is uniquely Screaming Females but with something extra, a twisting together of classic punk and rugged, down-and-dirty rock that you can’t hear anywhere else. Truly one of 2012’s musical gems, “Ugly” delivers an entirely new type of punk that’s at once jarring, gritty, forceful and rugged — once you’ve experienced it, you’ll find yourself begging for more.