THE CATCH
Get Cool
(Made In Mexico)
★★★★

You know the group of women chatting intimately over cocktails in a crowded bar-the ones you can't help but eavesdrop on, because their animated gossip session makes it clear they're talking about broken hearts? The Catch capture the mood of that clique, but they take the dishing a step further, delivering it in the form of pop songs packed with power chords, handclaps, and pep-rally cheers. Get Cool, the Seattle band's debut, bounces and bops as if it were recorded on a trampoline. Vocalist Carly Jean Nicklaus wails in a style somewhere between a tame Björk and Visqueen's Rachel Flotard, while keyboardist Amy Rockwell's shimmering new-wave licks mirror the girl-club fun of the Go-Gos' Beauty and the Beat. Each number is sharp and punchy, thanks in no small part to producer Erik Blood, who tosses light fuzz in the mix for added 'tude. Make no mistake, the Catch are both sassy and concerned with feminine empowerment, but they are also a pop band at heart. When Nicklaus sings, "I'm gonna wash that man right outta my hair," on "All About Me," it's obvious they're interested in enjoying their femininity more than dismantling the establishment. Essentially, Get Cool is a Saturday-night-out album that succeeds in being angsty ("Nothin' but Time"), sexy ("Nice"), and silly ("All About Me"), all while successfully striking a musical balance between late '70s New York and early '80s Los Angeles. BRIAN J. BARR

The Catch perform Fri June 10 at the Crocodile, $8/$10, 9 pm.

GOON MOON
I Got a Brand New Egg Layin' Machine
(Suicide Squeeze)
★★1/2

Marilyn Manson guitarist Twiggy Ramirez, Hella drummer Zach Hill, and Masters of Reality bassist Chris Goss form Goon Moon, a quasi-vanity project that likely won't please any of the members' main bands' fans. That's not to say I Got a Brand New Egg Layin' Machine is devoid of merit, but it is hard to imagine anyone getting excited about this 25-minute mini album. The disc's overarching style is a kind of amorphous, chaotic psychedelic rock, exemplified by "Inner Child Abuse" and "The Smoking Man Returns." Both songs feature Hill's mad drum fills and disorienting, manic dynamics that recall the peaks of Pink Floyd's Ummagumma. Similarly, the title track mirrors the fuzzed-up freakout intro to Steppenwolf's "Magic Carpet Ride," but with hyperactive drumming. On the down side, "Rock Weird (Weird Rock)" sounds like an outtake from Daft Punk's Human After All with its robotic vocals and monotonous automaton funk; the "romantic" ballad "Apartment 31" strives in vain for the arch-eyebrowed sincerity of Brian Eno's Here Come the Warm Jets; and "No Umbrellas" resembles the hokey new-wave goth often heard at clubs in the early '80s. Goon Moon obviously have some talent (and plenty of effects boxes), but they could benefit from more focus and time in the studio before rushing to release their conceptions. DAVE SEGAL

NEED NEW BODY
Where's Black Ben?
(5RC)
★★

With the word "funny" recurring like a mantra over the course of Need New Body's latest release, Where's Black Ben?, it's no surprise to find the album thoroughly subscribing to the school of psychedelic as code for just being plain goofy. What would otherwise be a solid pop album full of incongruous and interesting sounds is ruined by a pervading sense of humor that the listener is either in on or that causes great frustration. And it's definitely the latter of the two with NNB's Beastie Boy-cadenced rhymes percolating over odd instrumentation (banjo, synthesizer, slide whistle, drum machine, etc). That said, hidden at the core of Where's Black Ben? lies a collaboration with Sun Ra Arkestra players Marshall Allen and Tyrone Hill that washes over the record like a blessing. The songs following the touching tribute to Sun Ra and his co-travelers actually show a good deal of consideration, with 12 minutes of brilliant combinations of ecstatic jazz, electro rhythms, and Appalachian folk before the album returns to its natural state of rest with lame odes to the band's South Street hangouts in Philadelphia. If you can get past all the dude-isms, there is something to Where's Black Ben? but skeptics will find little to sway a building sense of frustration with the band. SCOTT GOODWIN

STEPHEN MALKMUS
Face the Truth
(Matador)
★★★

There's almost no sense reviewing Stephen Malkmus's solo records anymore. Ever since his beloved Pavement disbanded at the turn of the century, his albums have only become significantly weirder and looser and more self-satisfying than anything he did in the 10 years before. So then, the inevitable question surrounding Face the Truth begins, just how weird is it? Well, more than you'd think. There's only one straight-shooter here (it's called "Freeze the Saints" and, in a Neil Young sort of way, it's stunning), but the rest of Face the Truth sounds exactly like the sum of its parts: a man nearing middle age, in his basement, with, presumably, lots of grass, making the best record both Aphex Twin ("Kindling for the Master") and the Grateful Dead ("It Kills") never got around to. A classic LP, it is not. But, then again, maybe that's the intent. TREVOR KELLEY

!!!
Take Ecstasy with Me/Get Up
(Touch and Go)
★★★

This EP testifies to Cali/NY septet !!!'s diverse tastes and ability to transform other people's music into customized vehicles for their own dance-floor purposes. According to vocalist Nic Offer, these cover versions also helped the band learn new things about writing pop songs. !!! transform the early Magnetic Fields song "Take Ecstasy with Me" into a chugging piece of Neu!-ish disco, with Mario Andreoni and Tyler Pope's guitars emitting Michael Rother-like distorted radiance. Offer replicates Stephin Merritt's glum deadpan vocals as the piece rides a melancholy melody, even though it's about gobbling a popular mood-elevator. Mmm, paradox... Although I'm not much of a Magnetic Fields fan, !!!'s rendition of "Take Ecstasy" made me want to hear the original (and, not coincidentally, take Ecstasy), which is all you can ask of a cover version. Under !!!'s enthusiastic touch, Nate Dogg's "Get Up" becomes a 10-minute Caucasoid funk jam with frisky guitar friction and urgent, clap-enhanced beats that vaguely recall some revival-mission rhythms. It also reminds me of the extended jamming that transpired when funky, late-'60s rock groups got carried away in concert and just went off as if in a trance. This is a good thing, especially if you're a DJ who needs a bathroom break. DAVE SEGAL

SICK BEES
The Marina Album
(Up)
★★★

Jesus, what teases be these Sick Bees. The Marina Album clocks in at a mere 16 minutes, leaving you gasping for more of this Seattle duo's tart, tight pop nuggets. Starla ("guitar, vocals, stuff") and Julio ("drums 'n' such") adhere to the less-is-more school of rocking that recalls the angular severity and raucous energy of late-'70s post-punk combos like Raincoats, Swell Maps, and Wire. Though there are 13 tracks on the disc, Sick Bees consider The Marina Album to be one big song. If so, it's a fairly schizo number. It starts with a lesbian reading her personal ad over the phone ("I'm seeking a woman of color to look past my white skin to my black soul") set to a funky electronic-pop backing. From there, Sick Bees homage CCR's "Run Through the Jungle" and that "chim chim cher-ee" song from Mary Poppins, bust out some Erase Errata-style high-tension new wave, shout "give me your pussy!" a lot, parody Sonic Youth and Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, and evoke Free Kitten and Scissor Girls. Sick Bees have reached a new peak with The Marina Album. Prepare to be dazzled. DAVE SEGAL

Sick Bees perform Mon June 13 at Neumo's, $10, 9:30 pm.

DAVIE ALLAN & THE ARROWS
Cycle-Delic
★★★★

Blues Theme
★★★★

Apache '65
★★★

(Sundazed)

I know I've said it before but, DAMN, Davie Allan and the Arrows seem like such a bunch of MENACING mofos! Dig the cover of their Blues Theme LP! By the looks of 'em, all them bad asses have for you is a sucker punch in the kisser and pointed kick to the giblets! OUCH! However, rather than random beat-downs, Allan is known for his incendiary instrumental prowess, which he often double dips with FUZZ! For you squares, "fuzz" is distortion-affected "guitarsonist" leads! In the '60s, Allan, his fuzz, and the Arrows appeared on billions of biker movie soundtracks, and even today Allen continues to sporadically record new fuzzies. However, these CDs aren't soundtracks or new material, they're three reissues of his "proper" '60s LPs. FUZZ YES! And just like his "sound-track-tion," these are packed with fuzzed-out instrumental HEAT! Allan brilliantly keeps the arrangements in gear; they're pop informed, driving, and danceable. My only problem with the reissues is I WISH they were longer... Nipper needs more FUZZ! MIKE NIPPER

TORCHE
Torche
(Robotic Empire)
★★★★

Google the word "Torche," and the first URL that comes up is www.torche.gb.org, which then redirects you to a seemingly defunct www.gayconservatives.com. While your average pack of chest-beating heshers might be hesitant to associate themselves with such a specific demographic, Torche vocalist/guitarist Steve Brooks is fucking psyched beyond belief for the accidental Log Cabin connection, if only because he happens to like dudes-and thinks the idea of "faggy Republicans" is pretty hilarious. Brooks is also the mastermind behind defunct Floridian drone-anthem legends Floor, who recorded a pair of unstoppable albums for No Idea back in the day (and shared guitarist Anthony Vialon with Miami sludge outlaws Cavity) before going tits up early last year. Like Floor, Torche carry on the dizzying detuned tradition of Black Sabbath, but song titles like "Charge of the Brown Recluse," "Fuck Addict," and "Holy Roar" seem to indicate Torche are more about self-amusement and sonic triumph than gloomy apocalyptic ruminations or nerve-shattering cocaine-paranoia. When Brooks unleashes his patented "bombstring," a loose guitar string that, "when used correctly," he says, "can sound like a bomb detonating," you'll know the shit has hit the fucking fan. Add that to an arsenal that includes Brooks' soaring vocals and a cavalcade of bottomless riffs and you've got that rare combination of catchy, heavy, and gay that hasn't existed since Priest told us all we had "another thing coming." Guess what? Here it is. J. BENNETT

★★★★ Bundt Cake
★★★ Coffee Cake
★★ Cupcake
★ Wedding Cake