brian

Artist: Carina Round

Album: Tigermending

Carina Round’s moody, sculpted, constantly-evolving alternative-rock songs could have been played in the glory days of MTV’s “120 Minutes”. So I’m intrigued by how hard it is to find a good comparison for her. To predict whether you’ll enjoy Tigermending, it might help if you like U2’s more evasive songs (Acrobat, Until the End of the World, Love and Peace or Else, a Man and a Woman). Or imagine Radiohead’s the Bends if […]

Artist: Surplus 1980

Album: Relapse in Response

Surplus 1980 — a new band, though founder/frontman Moe Staiano has been a fascinating percussionist in S.F. Bay bands for 15 years — have a well-chosen name. As long as you pick up on the right 1980 musical references: the skewed-punk and post-punk and spiky New Wave ones. Essential Logic, Pere Ubu, the Fall, the Slits, the Ex, Tin Huey, first-album Gang of Four: Relapse in Response is a louder […]

Artist: Thinking Plague

Album: Decline and Fall

Thinking Plague are an extremely skillful band of singer (Elaine di Falco), guitar (Mike Johnson), bass (Dave Willey), keyboard and drums (both Kimara Sajn), and sax/ flute/ clarinets (Mark Harris). Oddly for a rock band, they almost entirely avoid distortion, even for bass and guitar. It’s easier for me to give you adjectives about their album Decline and Fall than it is to assure you they’re compliments. “Composed”, in both the […]