"XDao"-XDao

The term indie rock fills my body with hatred and disgust. If I have to hear one more 60's pop revival band I will hunt down Kevin Barnes and take out all my anger on him. Or maybe kill the members of Dr. Dog. But once upon a time indie rock wasn't so bland and boring and XDao remembers that time. I was wary upon reading the album review on the back of the CD case: "Great indie rock hooks!"-Radio & Retail. XDao is like a darker cousin of the Kooks, but it works. This music is tall, dark, and handsome, and is going to buy you a drink and you'll probably go back to his place and he'll be gone before you wake up the next morning. If this is not what you want, don't worry, there's plenty of "great indie rock hooks" to keep a more serious listener interested. XDao is not anything special, but is certainly refreshing in an indie rock scene that recently has seemed scared of being scary. Saucy's Picks: "Grace Period Over" is a good opener, "Birthday Lost" is a little too emo for me, but "Silenced by Rhyme" is catchy as hell.

"Turning Lead into Gold with the High Confessions"-The High Confessions

Remember when the Stooges decided to play metal? Neither do I but apparently happened and it's called High Confessions and it rules. From the opening track with the humorous title and lyrics "Mistaken for Cops", lead singer Chris Connelly evokes Iggy in a way that's complimentary but not mimicry. Name sound familiar? It's the same Chris Connelly from Ministry. Ever heard of Steve Shelley? As in Sonic Youth Steve Shelley? That explains the post-rock experimentation. Sanford Parker from Minsk and Jeremy Lemos from White/Light round up the band to bring out a solid and unique sound. Not for the faint of heart, most of the tracks off this album are well over 10 minutes long and often feature, and in the example of "Along Came the Dogs" feature long periods of drone and weird vocals. The sound of proto-punk has been brought into the 21st century, and I'm excited. This album is not afraid to be weird, not afraid to rock, and not afraid of being controversial, (of course with Chris Connelly all the lyrics are about sex, drugs, violence, more sex, beat poetry, sex again, drugs again, etc.). This is the album I would put on on a late night drive by myself down a one lane country road that never ends. Saucy's Picks: "Mistaken for Cops" stops the album from being too experimental, "Along Came the Dogs" is the weirdest and perhaps for that reason the best track on the album, "The Listener" has a lot of interesting percussion which is not as well represented in the other tracks, and "Chlorine and Crystal" ends the album by dragging you into a black abyss of nothingness. Ennui.

"Gift Horse"-Mose Giganticus

Wow this is weird. So remember how Melvins and Isis went on tour? Remember the travesty of the Melvins opening for Isis (I don't care that it was their last tour the Melvins should never open for anyone)? Mose Giganticus would agree with me, but would've gone to the show and loved every minute of it. This band is seriously what happens when the Melvins fuck Isis and the baby is ripped from the womb. It is really great, and although you could make the outright claim that they're basically a Melvins cover band, that's not the worst thing in the world to be. The band knows exactly what they're doing, all obviously well-trained and passionate about the music they're making. Matt Garfield is a great songwriter, and his lyrics are the opposite of stuff like Kingdom of Sorrow that makes you think metalheads are all brain dead from doing too much meth. "Gift Horse" has one problem in my mind which is it is too short, and I think the world would benefit from a little more material. Not to say that "The Seventh Seal" isn't a solid closer, I just wish there was more in between that and the awesome opening track "Last Resort" which reminds of "The Bit" by the Melvins. Get this album. Saucy's Picks: I'm serious listen to every song. Every single one.

"Behind the Blackest Tear"-Kingdom of Sorrow

Despite the incredibly emo title of this album, (as well as the name of the band), "Behind the Blackest Tear" is a solid metal album. The band classifies itself as sludge metal, but putting fuzz and tuning down your guitar does not make you sludge. The band is more along the lines of early Metallica or Pantera, not so much my cup of tea but I've never been a big fan of the other bands these guys were in, Crowbar, Down, and Hatebreed. It is well-written and features good production, but the lyrics are the epitome of metal stereotypes. I would like to evoke a term invented by a good friend of mine, VAG (Virginia Gentleman), and say this album is the "blurst" or basically a guilty pleasure. Saucy's Picks: "Enlightened to Extinction" is fun, the title track "Behind the Blackest Tear" features some cool, if borderline silly, riffs, and "From Heroes to Dust" invokes a sort of "Enter Sandman" mentality.

"The Five Ghosts"-Stars

It's been awhile kidos but I'm back and for once it's not metal/punk/grind/music that makes your ears bleed. Canadian veterans Stars have come out with a new album "The Five Ghosts" and it is well worth a listen. Stars decided to go with what they're good at, epic and beautifully melodic well-written tunes that would work as well on the dance floor as they would coming through your head-phones. The haunting dual vocals, especially the voice of Amy Milan. This album belongs to Amy: her voice is beautiful but has a confidence to it that is both sexy and terrifying, a girl you don't want to fall in love with cause she's too much for you but that's the exact reason you're falling for her. And without further swooning, Saucy's picks: "Dead Hearts" is a great opener, "Fixed" is my favorite track of the album and is probably the reason for my quasi-romantic love of Amy's voice, "He Dreams He's Awake" should be in the closing credits of an awesome movie, and "Winter Bones" is a solid finish for a solid album.