The following statement will make me sound bitter: I rarely get captivated by a new band after hearing only one song.

Wah, wah, wah—I'm a rock writer and I get tons of free music to listen to every fucking day but not all of it's good, boo hoo, life's so hard... That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying that I've been fooled by enough bands that have produced exactly one good song that I know better than to hear a great tune and get excited about the band.

Occasionally, though, there are the bands that bend the rules and leave an instant impression. These are the bands that encompass everything I didn't know I wanted to hear at that exact moment. One such band is Brooklyn's Meneguar.

Meneguar were introduced to me by accident; I remember the first time I heard them. A friend meant to send me a link to another band's MySpace page but sent a link to Meneguar instead. I don't even remember who that other band was because I couldn't stop listening to Meneguar's "House of Cats." The urgent drums and pulsating guitar in the first 10 seconds, the bass and lyrics that kick in just after... This was back in 2005 and at that time it had been a while since I'd heard anything like it—Meneguar were as wickedly captivating as David Bowie in Labyrinth (and they don't even need the stretch pants and mullet to pull it off).

I didn't give a shit about the rest of the songs the band had posted on their page—"House of Cats" was all I needed. Then I caved to curiosity and listened to "Kids Get Cut," which pairs jarring guitars and anthemic dual vocals that cater to the posthardcore lover in me with slightly chaotic but melodic sensibilities reminiscent of Built to Spill's guitar work. Think Plastic Mastery at their more spastic moments. I had to see them live.

So I waited. And waited. And the band never came to Seattle. The closest they got was Portland and why I didn't go down for that show is a mystery. Two years later, though, and Make Believe Productions are finally bringing the band to town. They're headlining a hell of a lineup at Healthy Times Fun Club on Friday, October 26, with Elphaba, Talbot Tagora, and Police Teeth. Dreams do come true. recommended

megan@thestranger.com