I’m finding it hard to listen to this album. Not because of the tangible music, exactly, but because of its clash of polar opposites. On Skull Ring, Iggy Pop’s most recent solo venture, the Stooges reunite for four tracks and Sum 41 guests on the album’s first single. But there is something innately wrong that an album that also holds the first songs by the Stooges – a band that all but birthed punk as we know it – in 30 years sits alongside a song by Sum 41 – a band that greatly contributed to punk’s distillation into the realm of pop. Other than this protrusive, painful bit of irony, the album fairs rather poorly. The first cut on Skull Ring, “Little Electric Chair,” is also the album’s best track as the Stooges of yore show their skills: the song is satiated by raw slashes of guitar, primal drumming, danceable handclaps, and Iggy’s patented yelp. From there, Skull Ring basically beats the same formula into the remaining fifteen songs, all but killing the sound. Green Day and Peaches also guest on the album, along with Iggy’s longtime backing band, the Trolls, but it all starts to sound the same as this sonic archetype is still beast heard in the Stooges farewell full-length from 1973, Raw Power. Iggy, I still love you, but the past 30 years certainly has not treated you very well. [www.iggypop.com]

Although pop-punk has been played into the proverbial ground, Sixty Stories at least attempt to inject a bit of originality and fun into the well-worn formula. Fronted by two women and a guy on the drums, the three-some also enlist help from a computer who is credited with Anthem Red’s organ, keyboard, and beeps. Although they refrain from utilizing the electro influence that they hint at, when they do sift it into their pop-punk regimen, their sonic expanse is greatly increased. The intro to “First Bell,” for instance, puts a much needed extra dynamic into their sound. However, Sixty Stories seem to shy away from much of the potential that they initially show. Ultimately, Anthem Red is just another stereotypical pop-punk release from a band that would be better off playing consistent covers of the Buzzcocks. [go.to]

The Beginning came out fall 2003 over in the UK and has just been released in the US as a warm up to The Features' major label debut with Universal Records, Exhibit A, due out this summer. Matt Pelham (guitar/vocals) Roger Dabbs (bass), Parrish Yaw (keyboards) and Rollum Haas (drums) make music that defies pidgeonholing, and they revel in it. For starters, “Walk You Home” sounds like an old-time calliope gone nuts. There are difficult rhythms and horns that just don't sound like they should be going there, but they totally fit. It's music that is hyperactive but not exhausting. And just when you get a grip on the somewhat cacophonous nature of the first two tracks, they sneak in "Bumble Bee." It's insane how it draws you in with a sing-song quality. It almost sound like the Telletubbies should be covering it or something, and then in the middle it takes on an almost Beatlesesque sound. I’m telling you, these guys are really hard to pin down. First singles for a new(ish) band are tricky. Personally, I would have picked "Two by Two" because I think it best shows off the band's overall sound while remaining catchy and accessible. The record company’s choice, however, "The Way It's Meant To Be," is not exactly representative of the rest of their music. At least not what's on this EP. I am afraid that it might sell the band short and turn off people who would really dig what they're doing or give the false impression that this is just another Hot Hot Heat clone. After listening to The Beginning over and over, I can't help thinking how much The Features remind me of Kurt Weil/Bertold Brecht collaborations in certain songs. Ok, nevermind. (Sorry for the obscure German theatre reference.) Really what I’m trying to say is that The Features music is really catchy but has the edge to make it really interesting too. As a friend of mine put it, “They make music this cool in Tennessee?” Yes, Jason, apparently they do. 4/22/04 Just an addendum: I saw The Features live last night as an opening act, and I have to say that while my rating on the EP stands, it really sells their live performance short. On stage, they were tight, in command and completely on. The real power of the songs on the EP comes out in concert, especially the blistering drumming from Rollum. The man clearly drives their performance in the way a great drummer should. If they happen to come to your town, you'd be doing yourself a favor to catch them. Also, their full length CD is due out sometime this fall, so that will mean another tour hopefully as headliners. - m [www.thefeatures.com]

If you were five years ago, and you weren’t deaf, then you have probably heard Vertical Horizon about 1000 times. Their last release Everything You Want spawned a number of radio hits that just wouldn’t go away. The interesting thing was that whether you loved them or hated them, you couldn’t help but sing along every now and then. Now its four years later, the boys have finally released the follow-up to their breakthrough, and you can be sure the acoustic jams will abound. But is it any good? Go represents the embodiment of the old saying “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” The Boston based foursome doesn’t stray far from the formula that made them platinum artists, and that is at once the downfall and the success of the album. There is nothing on this album that challenges you. Not one track verges to the edges of the envelope, nor explores foreign territory. All eleven tracks stick to the basic formula that the band has perfected. Whether you want to or not, you can’t help but bob your head along to tracks like “It’s Over”, “Underwater” and “Echo”. This is one of those albums that scare me a little bit. On first listen I thought it was kind of bland, not horrible, but nothing I would buy or listen to more than necessary to review it. Then a funny thing happened. The end of the work day came and I realized that somehow I had listened to the album all day, and mysteriously I knew all the words. And that, in short, is the story of this whole album. Vertical Horizon might not be cementing their place in any Halls of Fame with this release, and they aren’t likely to go down as innovators of sound, but there is something to be said for a catchy tune. It’s a good album to just relax to and unwind while singing along a few times. It isn’t rocket science, but that is why it succeeds. Sometimes you just want something that is mellow sounding and something you don’t have to think about. [www.verticalhorizon.com]

Damn you P.O.D.!!! I was all set to hate this album, or at least have some distain for it. Why? I couldn’t really tell you. I just never cared for the band all that much I guess. Their band of nu-metal/rap/reggae/Christian rock just never really got my attention, and I didn’t have any reason to believe this would be any different. However, it was. Well kind of… It’s not that the album is something extraordinary, because it is not. Payable On Death heavily focuses on a blend of reggae and almost cosmic funk. It is a bit different, but just appealing enough to keep your interest. The most noticeably difference from the P.O.D. you might have seen on TRL is the fact that there doesn’t really exist a radio friendly song on the disc. The album is a bit heavier and serious than their previous effort, and it is for the better. The production is stellar, making the album sound polished and raw at the same time. Tracks like “Find My Way” and “Will You” showcase the bands talent at making a hard song feel soft, and vice versa. Of course the hope-filled lyrics we have come to expect from P.O.D. are very present. “Revolution” and “Change The World” are evidence enough of that. On point of interest is at the position of guitar. Marcos Curiel left under uncertain circumstances and in popped Jason Truby (formerly of Living Sacrifice). It is always a big test to see how a band will handle the loss of a founding member, and in this case the band succeeds without missing a step. The guitar is a bit cleaner one might say, but the change does not have a huge effect on the bands sound. Not something that is going to send P.O.D. to multi-platinum heaven, but a decent enough rock record that will keep you interested for a least a few weeks. After that, who knows…? [www.payableondeath.com]

One of the hardest things to do when reviewing an album is just to take it for what it’s supposed to be. Whether it is a genre you love, or a genre you hate, an artist you worship, or an artist you have hated in the past, you have to be unbiased and take the work for what it is, out of the context of your personal taste. So along comes Landmine Spring’s Are We The Culprits?, a headbanger’s ball / death metal album from an English band I have never heard of… I try to keep an open mind and listen for something maybe I had missed before, and sure enough I find one or two things that catch my ear, but for the most part all I hear the standard thrashing guitars and growling vocals of metal. It’s not that the album is horrible, or makes me want to through stereo equipment out the window, it’s just that it isn’t my cup of tea, and that is hard to get over. Now there is a time and a place for growling in rock music. One has to look no further than say a Todd Lewis, of the Toadies, to see that. But most of the tracks on this album bleed together into one category; the lead singer growls non-stop, only pausing to slightly sing a chorus every now and then. It is the stamp of metal these days, but also quite an abrasive technique that makes the album hard to want to play again. After four or five listens and giving it a shot, I determine this disc just isn’t for me. I have to take into account the genre, and so maybe in that context it isn’t horrible, but great albums cross genres and tastes, and this just isn’t one of them. [www.landmine-spring.co.uk]

Who says music that’s good has to be serious? Not Tom Heinl, that’s for sure. Hailing from Eugene, Oregon this one man band blends a bit of comedy with a bit of Cash and Haggard to create one of the weirdest, funniest albums I have come across. Right from start you hear the picking and a grinning of good ole fashion country music. The opening track “Mama”, harkens back to the old timeless country themes (mama died and daddy’s drinking himself to heaven). You could slip it in a jukebox between the oldies and no one would notice a thing. From there the album takes a little turn though. On tracks like “Three-Way” (about a sex romp gone wrong), “Peein’ In An Empty” (about not stopping for nature on a road trip), and “Christmas Tree On Fire” (about, well, a Christmas tree on fire) you see what the album is really all about; satirical and funny lyrics that are well written and real, backed by timeless music. Ending the album is a, let’s say, “unique” version of the country standard “I Love”, complete with Tom’s own lyrical tribute to things ranging from “old elbow skin” to “a young Haley Mills.” Not only is the album filled with music that will make you smile, but the album is in “Stereoke”. After the albums eleven tracks are done, there is a brief track of silence before the eleven tracks repeat themselves, minus Tom’s lead vocals. So, your friends and family can get drunk, gather around the stereo and sing your hearts out. The concept makes more sense with a little history. Tom once had a band, but one day he got a gig at a party and couldn’t get his band together in time. Instead of canceling he just took some 4 tracks he had around, dubbed out the vocal track, took a stereo with him to the party, hit play, and sang along. A couple of his band mates, who were at the party, came up and politely told him, “we quit!”, and Tom has performed that way ever since. While the extra tracks are something most people will never actually take advantage of, they’re a nice little extra and why not through some extra fun on a disc? Overall, this is a great little surprise of a disc. It’s fun and it’s good old country music. Most importantly it doesn’t just make up things to be funny, it’s real. I mean who hasn’t been hammered in a restaurant at 2 a.m. (see the track “IHOP”)? [www.tomheinl.com]

The Remix; it has become an art form over the past couple decades, from something people just did for fun, to something people make millions of dollars off of. How many times have you heard an R&B hit start with the rapper de jour screaming “This is the remix!”? In the world of R&B it is the norm. I don’t think J. Lo has ever released a single that is actually on her album, but rather every song is a remix that has the addition of four or five new artists (inevitably Ja Rule) and a new beat. In the world of indie rock it is a bit of a newer beast. People like the Flaming Lips, Wilco, and other big indie hitter have been lending their talents and their work to doing, and being subjects of, remixes. But is the result as fruitful as we would hope? The French Kicks released one of the better albums of the past few years in the form of One Time Bells, an album I still pop in weekly. So, I was a little curious as to what a remix single might be like. It really isn’t much I am sad to say, but then again remixes of rock songs seldom result in anything noteworthy. The disc contains four different remixes of “Close To Modern” and one B-side “When You Heard You”. The problem with the disc lies in the repetitive beats of dance music and the repetitive feel of the album. I have given the disc more than a few spins and I still couldn’t begin to tell you which remix was which. Four songs fly by with relatively the same bit, only differing in vocal mixes or slight idiosyncrasies. Granted I am not a fan of remix, or of dance music, but I have been known to shake it like a saltshaker once or twice. When indie rock is made in the right way it is very danceable (see the new Metric album, or Radiohead’s “Idioteque”), but this is just not making me want to move. The b-side “When You Heard You”, is a good enough song, but it isn’t a true b-side, it is just another song off the album, and offers nothing new or exclusive. I just don’t see the fascination with dance music, nor with remixing, and this album doesn’t change me on either. It is interesting to hear once or twice, but never makes you want to get up and dance, and never offers much of a new perspective on the original work. Download it from a friend if you are really that curious, but don’t worry about it other than that. [www.frenchkicks.com]

Since I will be reviewing dios’ first full length recording next which is self-titled, I will detail the bands biographical sketch now and spare the fluff in the next review. Plus, the Los Arboles EP is nothing special. So dios (all lowercase letters, as they love to tell you) hails from Hawthorne, California. The same Hawthorne that produced The Beach Boys and Black Flag. They are influenced by hometown heroes The Beach Boys, but also by Grandaddy and Neil Young. On to the EP… You see the fundamental problem with EP’s is that either every track is excellent and the disc suffers from being too short or the EP contains a couple bad apple tracks and that’s enough to merit permanent shelving. Los Arboles represents the latter. Fortunately, the first two tracks re-appear on their self-titled LP debut, which makes track five the only noteworthy song on this EP. Track three, “Bust out the Candy,” sounds like a nursery rhyme. And the artificially tender song, “Everyday,” possesses very little ingenuity and more sap than a Vermont sugar tree in the budding Spring. However, dios manages to raise expectations again with their final track “Tragic Lady” by structurally mimicking a John Lennon classic and infusing it with a Southern California lo-fi indie twist. Here’s a hint if you haven’t figured it out yet: dios’ self-titled full length album is a better buy and representation of what’s to come for this young band. [www.diosweare.com]

Music by committee; it’s a great idea, but a hard thing to perfect. One of the fundamentals of music is collaborative vision and unity, but when you get a group of artist’s together to play on an album it sometimes spells disaster. Using upwards of 6 producers and 16 musicians on one album certainly qualifies as walking the line on this subject. However, Davis succeeds nicely and comes out of the kitchen full of cooks with a dish that is sure to satisfy. Aided & Abetted is the second solo release from Davis after leaving the band scene to raise a family. The key of the album is Davis’ use of each artist to reinforce and strengthen his vision, instead of trying to make it sound like the guests are taking over the party. The album exhibits heavy influence and homage from the sounds of Elliot Smith, God rest his soul, with mellow lyrics and a gentle harmonized voice. Aimee Argote (of Des Ark) steps up to the mic for a couple of songs, providing one of the albums highlights in “Green Forestry Ranger”, but for the most part it is Davis’ voice and melodies that make the album shine. Aside from a few guitar-driven songs (see the catchy riffs of “Underdawg”); the majority of the album is acoustically driven and piano based. Perhaps mellowed out from fatherhood or time, Davis is more relaxed and focused than his early days, and this is a good thing. From beginning to end this is a focused yet dreaming record, wandering about the piano keys, producing melodies and mayhem. Overall this album will be a pleasant surprise for anyone who picks it up. Though no one could ever replace him, fans of Elliot Smith’s brand of melodic, yet dark, yet catchy, yet indescribable music will find a welcomed home in Davis work. A great record to put on and just mellow out to. [www.lovitt.com]

I fell in love with Travis around about my second listen to The Invisible Band. Every song was so catchy and melodic and happy and fun and everything about that album scratched me right where I itched. Sitting at my computer singing horrendously along “Flowers in the window… such a lovely day… and I’m glad you feel the saaammmeeee…”. Good times and a great album. So I was a little unsure what to think when I popped in their latest effort and found a much mellower and more thought provoking album. It took me a while but I think my ears finally digested it… 12 Memories tale is told in its packaging. The album has not much color or excitement to grab you, and you really have to read to get anything out of it. The liner notes are black and white and the lyrics are in small font bunched efficiently together, but upon further reading you find the contents to be worth the read and a bit deeper than you might have initially though. The songs are neither catchy nor epic, but straight forward and forgettable on first listen, but upon revisiting slowly open up to reveal much more. For the longest while I thought of this album as quite a disappointment. It was rather bland in comparison to its catchy predecessor and it just didn’t do anything for me. I suspect it might be that way for a lot of people. But the beauty of music is that while not a single note on the album has changed since that first listen, my opinion and appreciation for it has. You won’t find one riff on this album to make you play air guitar. You won’t find one melody getting stuck in your head. You won’t find any choruses to sing along to either. But what you will find is twelve neatly and beautifully crafted songs that speak in a whisper rather than a scream. Front man Fran Healy tackles subjects like war (“Beautiful Occupation”) and domestic abuse (“Re-Offender”) on his most thought provoking lyrics to date. The music is soothing, mellow, and addictive, even if you can’t figure out why. It may be the hardest Travis release to get your mind around and to like, but once you do you will be happy you took the time to give it a second listen. Overall good work from the boys across the pond. This album won’t catch your ear or you heart, and won’t top many “best of” lists, but it will go down as another stellar release from one of Scotland’s better exports. [www.travisonline.com]

dios’ self-titled full-length debut gracefully blends sunny folk pop with Grandaddy friendly electronic flare to create an atmospheric disc saluting their hometown heroes, The Beach Boys. Nowhere is this influence more evident than in “50 Cents” where the boys from Hawthorne interrupt their folk ballad to perform the melodious “ooh’s” sequence from Pet Sounds’ “You Still Believe in Me.” dios wears their musical influences on their sleeves, and that’s not a bad thing. “Nobody’s Perfect,” the album’s opening cut strikingly resembles a Neil Young performance of Weezer’s “The Sweater Song.” While “Birds,” “You Make Me Feel Uncomfortable” and “You Got Me All Wrong” resurrects the breezy country-pop of Mr. Young’s Harvest catalogue. “The Uncertainty of How Things Are” begins as an oceanic piano serenade, but eventually morphs into a Pink Floydian space odyssey. Hints of Grandaddy, without the imaginative lyrics, are most apparent on “All Said & Done” as keyboards and vocal harmonies are lushly co-mingled. The sounds of clapping tambourines and hands in “You’ll Get Yours” follow the Spoon recipe while “Just Another Girl” pays homage to vintage Simon & Garfunkel. “All My Life” concludes dios as “Motion Picture Soundtrack” beautifully punctuates Kid A. Dios’ self-titled album is a modest and honest debut. Honest in that it credits our harmonious forefathers. Modest in that it briefly explores the use of computers in the studio without undermining the gracefulness of their non-computer generated songs dios is a work to be proud of considering this band has been in existence for little over a year and a half and three fifths of the band members are under the age of twenty-one. As demanding fans, we can only hope the evolution of dios’ studio recordings do not follow the evolution of Ryan Adams’. [www.wearedios.com]

It's nice to hear a straight edge band that still has a sense of humor. Who can't help laughing at anti-smoking sentiments voiced with a line like "I'd rather suck a dick than be the one who looks like a fool"? Or a anthemic chant of "Oh my God, Carl got laid"? Anyway, you're highly unlikely to find any X-wielding mosh inducers this year that can top Casey Jones. Featuring members of Evergreen Terrace, the Floridians are making a name for themselves with their Indianola Records debut The Few, the Proud, the Crucial. Incorporating samples from everything from The Karate Kid to Family Guy, The Few, the Proud, the Crucial is a hardcore work of art. Breakdowns in just the right places, perfect usage of gang vocals, straight edge proclamations galore, and just bordering on the line where serious meets fun. "Hardcore" is a broad term, but no matter where you fit in, you'll most likely enjoy what Casey Jones has to offer. If not, you'll still at least have a few laughs. And hell, if you like hip hop, tune in at the end of the record for some rhyme spittin' and some calling out on those who are selling out. [www.indianolarecords.com]

I'd been neglecting to check this band out for a long time now, mainly because their name screams generic. Too bad I hopped on the boat after the band decided to call it quits. Death on Wednesday definitely wasn't an incredible band, but they did stand out among the oversaturated So-Cal punk scene. Nathan Lawler's voice falls in somewhere between Smoking Popes/Duvall singer Josh Caterer and Danzig, strangely. They fit in with the punk scene comparable to how early No Motiv did, not being completely original but there was always something about them that set them apart, and it's hard to put a finger on that quality. I guess they're just more rockin', but with some obvious punk-age tossed in, too. Songs to ___ to is a decent EP though, and I would have liked to hear what the band would have created had they stayed together. Lawler's voice is appealing, and the disc doesn't carry any weaknesses. The music is fun and accessible, hook-filled, and very tight overall. However, mothing really made my ears perk up though. Being an EP, Songs to ___ to isn't gonna set your wallet back much, so if you enjoy any early Vagrant Records bands (Boxer, No Motiv), or are a fan of Caterer's voice, this is probably a good investment. [www.sidecho.com]

Half way into Black Rebel Motorcycle Club's sophomore album, Take Them On, On Your Own, singer Peter Hayes opens the song "Generation" with the irony-smothered line, "I don't feel at home in this generation." Such a lyrical protrusion is so obvious given the three-some's continuous recycling of the Velvet Underground's proto-punk filth and the Jesus and Mary Chain's distortion pedal-driven rock sound that you cannot help but feel sorry for the three young men who makeup the Club. They persist in aspiring to become the leather-clad rock icons that made such incendiary and timeless albums as Psychocandy and White Light/ White Heat, but continue to utterly fail with a lack of creativity, vision, and originality that their ancestral sound bearers were rife with. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, for two full albums now, have been living in the past, eclipsed by their musical precedents who cast two of the largest looming shadows in rock-n-roll's lineage. So what, exactly, is the point of distilling their feedback-fueled guitars and cigarette-tinged vocals into a lackluster 21st century version? There simply is not one as Black Rebel Motorcycle Club entirely miss the point and continue to make cliché rock music that is tired and bored of itself. [www.blackrebelmotorcycleclub.com]

Apparently the Tennessee trio known as Serotonin has been around since 1996, but Future Anterior is my first encounter with the band. Luckily, it's been a charming first encounter. Defining Serotonin's sound is really too difficult to put into any term one that one could truly grasp--I could say "intricate, indie, mathy rock with singing/screaming and lots of time changes", "layered guitars, original and creative, spastic but simultaneously controlled", but that would be meaningless to most people. Or I could use band comparisons to promote Serotonin: "for fans of the Mars Volta, The Ladderback, Drive Like Jehu, etc", taken directly from the press sheet. But the only true way to know this band is to take a listen for yourself. Their musicianship is superior, the vocals don't soar but they get the job done, the songwriting is as top notch as anything similar you'll find. Besides, it was produced at Steve Albini's studio, doesn't that say something? Definitely something worth checking out if you dig anything mentioned in the above paragraph. Or check out the sounds on Bifocal Media's website. And though they've been around for 8 years, it's still not too late to become a fan and school the other kids on the obscure band naming game. [www.bifocalmedia.com]

The best part about Loses Control is that this is an accomplishment in a genre that’s become sickeningly tasteless in the last few years. That mainstream jinx, the copycat, one-trick ponies and other overcompressed-overdigitized-talentless bands nervously gripping that “bandwagon of the week” riding it into the ground, makes it very hard for new bands to sidestep such a ‘trendy’ facade. Hey Mercedes’ Loses Control draws on the post-punk influence of Jimmy Eat World and Saves The Day, but doesn’t ever cross over into that awfully rigid “Modern Hits” radio-station-gimmick territory. They come, thankfully, without the added baggage of contemporary rock clichés, contrived lyrics, or single-serving producers. In general, Hey Mercedes is a feel-good band. They’re all about upbeat sing-alongs, catchy melodies, and playful rock without a hint of Pop-artificiality or Emo-whining. While the sub-par production (ugg) makes the songs sound a little too similar (once the third song rolls around you’re acquainted with the majority of the album), it is my one and only complaint. The overall arrangement is solid and the enthusiastic quality is quite enjoyable. [www.heymercedes.com]

Mae is a decent band for those listeners who play music for the sake of background ambiance. It is polite music, never tense or excitable; it flows from start to finish without interrupting a conversation or breaking your concentration. It’s like Death Cab For Cutie without the sophistication and Dashboard Confessional without the drama. As you can imagine, that is also the problem (besides the pretentious album title). Destination: Beautiful is so uniform in its instrumentation and trance that nothing really stands out enough for me to concede as exceptional. In fact, while preparing for this review I listened to it incessantly trying to find some intellectual, lyrical, or instrumental angle to write from, since I like to mention both positive and negative qualities of an album. In this case I can only state that it’s good and simple. [www.whatismae.com]

There's a good chance you've never heard of Nicotine, and that could be because the foursome comes from Chiba, Japan, and not the Southern California punk scene that comes across in their music. Playing NOFX and the like style punk rock, Nicotine presents a solid album with School of Liberty. The album is full of "whoa ohs", catchy choruses, and guitar hooks, but doesn't introduce anything you've never heard before. At the same time, though, you might find yourself giggling at the band's attempts at singing in English. It comes off pretty well, but it's still obvious that the band doesn't speak the language. Did I mention the cover of Green Day's classic "Basket Case"? Thankfully, School of Liberty is a playful, feel-good album that you can throw in without having to concentrate on the music, and just enjoy what's coming out of the stereo. [www.asianmanrecords.com]

You might be familiar with the members of Just a Fire's previous work --bassist/singer Fred Erskine put time in both Hoover and June of '44, and guitarist Chris Daly has his roots in Sweep the Leg Johnny. Along with drummer Scott Adamson, the trio has produced 9 songs collectively known as "Light Up", on Asian Man Records. Just a Fire can't be pigeonholed into one genre; you can find hints of reggae, punk, indie, and post-hardcore throughout Light Up. Songs such as "Hot Export" are hard driving songs, but you've gotta get past the fact that Erskine doesn't have an exceptional voice, and his shouting isn't the best either. But it's not dreadful, either. "Graduation" implements some brass and reggae, and brings to mind a more experimental version of The Police; by far the album's strongest track. Much of the lyrical content focuses on politics, as heard on the almost Hot Hot Heat-ish "Snake in that Bush". If you can overlook the occasional "this is a good song but shouldn't last this long" factor, and enjoy bands ranging from The Police to Q and Not U to June of '44 (surprise surprise), Light Up surely won't be a letdown. [www.asianmanrecords.com]