over-the-top is the new laidback

but first: one of my more favorite local groups, friendly no one, is playing at the terminal bar on april 1. they were kind enough to give me a call the other day in the hopes of scoring a hot ticket, which i couldn't do because it was too late, but i am hereby plugging this show right now. here's a review from pulse of their disc "the cleveland specials":

Friendly No One
The Cleveland Specials
Self-Released

First of all, this album looks great, even if the CD completely nicks the on-disc art from Conor Oberst’s Desaparecidos. It’s nice to see a band pay close attention to crafting a package that makes you psyched to slip the disc in. The album’s impeccably recorded, especially for a band-recorded effort, and if you like indie rock delievered with clean arpeggios and urgently hushed vocals that break into grindy off-kilter choruses, you’ll be hooked by the second track, “The Seconds That Hurt.” You’re probably thinking Dismemberment Plan, and you’d be right, although Scott and Atom’s vocals are less of an acquired taste than Travis Morrison’s. If anybody remembers Cold Water Flat, they’re a little like them in their fondness for rolling rather than jackknifing their rhythms although they play the loud/soft dynamic card a little more dramatically. Indie rock aficionados take heed; everyone else, you’ve probably stopped reading this by now.

so check 'em out.

in related news: over-the-top is the new laidback. i'm a lover of indie rock, which means having an appreciation for the just a little off, the hushed, the bruised, the quirky. and that's great. i love all that stuff, but here's the thing about spring, which seems to have newly sprung in our corner of the world: all i want to listen to are ridiculously over-the-top and/or mainstream bands. what's wrong with sterling production and ass-kicking in a very streamlined way? so here are the things that have been rocking my world recently, much to my girlfriend's chagrin:

the mars volta :: frances the mute & de-loused in the comatorium
the black crowes :: southern harmony and musical companion & amorica
reef :: together: the best of reef
pearl jam :: my own personal mix

that there pearl jam includes the remixed version of alive and the re-recorded version of even flow from the best of that came out a year or so ago. they're just so ... exuberant! sometimes i miss that. the earnestness. in any case, after hearing the single world wide suicide, i'm fully psyched to hear the new full-length from good old pj. i'll be sure to hand in my gun, badge and indie cred on my way out the door.