The Joggers - With A Cape and A Cane

Pinning down The Joggers' immediate influences would be difficult, but I'll venture the guess that they're avid music fans with an affinity for record collecting. That said, their sound falls in place with the Kinsella brothers' Owls project, Wolf Parade, Faraquet, Interpol, XTC, and a plethora of the strongest bands the 1980s had to offer. They've shared the stage with Weird War, Hot Hot Heat, and Ted Leo, to name a few, and the Portland-based trio conceived one of the better albums of 2005, though too many people might not know it. The sophomore release for the band, With a Cape and a Cane shuffles between angular guitar-led numbers and pop-laden gems. You can dance to some tracks; others aren't so rhythmic. But throughout its entirety, the album maintains concise and thoughtful musicianship, with nary a moment of simplicity. Harmonies often get lost in the muddle, or weren't there to begin with, but the vocals are often shared amongst the members. The guitar interplay is woven throughout the entire record, but rarely does it wear out its welcome. Rarely does the melody carry the song; the guitars are the focal point. But on the occasions in which the group decides to write an all-out pop song ("Night of the Horsepills," for example), they do a pretty damn good job. Sadly, I've not seen an abundance of hype surrounding The Joggers yet, but With a Cape and a Cane further establishes them as a band worth checking out, and if guitar noodling and punchy rhythms are your thing, don't pass it up. [www.thejoggers.com]