introducing one-listen wednesdays

today i'm introducing a super new feature to the pulse music blog: every wednesday i'm going to pick out a cd from the towering stack on my desk and review it on the first listen as i'm listening to it. this week's pick is ...

crown vics
s/t
maduro records

so the crown vics are mike brown on guitar, jim freund on bass and vocals, nate gardner on vocals and guitars and mike olszewski on drums and vocals. i'm guessing nate is the singer, and they just went with the old alphabetical order for the listing of the band. here's what i'm thinking so far, about halfway through leadoff track "dad is sick": vocals sound a little like bob mould, but the music is in the vein of americana/roots rock. hang on, i'm gonna get some coffee. the sound is quite good, and i'm also reminded of another solid local effort that crossed my desk a few weeks ago by stook. we're going to have a feature on him by andrea myers the first week of may. but anyways. i'm taking a look at the sheet they sent along and they're going to be having their cd release show at the 400 bar on thursday, april 13. the second track ("dashboard") sounds a little more agitated. some touches of the late mark sandman (from morhphine). kind of down in the gutter and dirty, rain pouring down. although not as over the top, the groove is right down the alley of i can lick any sonofabitch in the house, who are one of my favorite live bands. however, the production really needs to be over the top for this to work, and it's not so much here. this song could really kick ass live.

"birdman" (not the askeleton song of the same name, although i suppose we could add these to the list from tom hallett's time waster this week in 'round the dial) has a nice guitar melody up top and some decent harmony vocals. the guitar riff is really nifty and symmetrical, taking you on a little journey and then bringing you right back again at the end of two bars. i heard that knol tate from askeleton wrote his "birdman" about a guy who was pissed at him one night when he was at chang o'hara's but couldn't get in because he didn't have his id so dude just stood outside and flipped him and his whole party off for several minutes. this birdman seems to have stolen the protagonist's girl away from him, but the tone is a lot more wistful generally. wouldn't it be crazy if it were the same guy?

okay, sorry, i got distracted by e-mail and an office visitor. i'm up to track 8, "medicine." the disc continues to display solid chops and a plesantly mild rock aesthetic. if the trend continues, i think we're looking at a really solid bar band with a good ear for melody that could and should do well at venues like the hexagon and the turf. which i went to last night for the first time post-smoking ban. and let me say, it's a treat. and it doesn't even smell that bad! of course, i couldn't make it down to the clown lounge, which might suffer a little more given its below ground status.

okay, the disc has wound to a close and the previous assessment has proven correct. no pink floyd-style freakouts at the end, just straight-ahead easy rocking that should make 'em smile at neon-lit bars around town. oh, and the mark sandman vocal comparison turned out to be more apt than mould.