So it turns out I'm not perfect after all. Sigh. Last week I wrote a Stranger Suggests item for the An Albatross/the Assailant show at Neumo's. Being fairly unfamiliar with the new Assailant sound (but a huge fan of their older work), I assumed the band were still up to their 45-second fits of fury, but as band member Matt Doctor tells me, that's no longer the case.

"We've been through some lineup changes in the last year (new vocalist and now only one guitar player)," he says, "and that has given us room to grow a lot musically." He also informs me that not only are most songs past the 45-second mark, they even have one jam that goes on for a solid 10 minutes! I can only guess at how insane that is. He promises, though, despite all the changes, the music is still "loud as hell and when it's heavy it's still heavy."

The band have a new picture-disc 7-inch coming out in the next couple of weeks on Init Records, recorded by Ben Verellen from Roy and Botch fame. Wowza! You can get a preview at the band's MySpace page, www.myspace.com/theassailant.

Speaking of lineup shakeups and breakups, some remnants of the Blue Sky Mile combustion have collided with fragments of the Problem with Heroes division and created a new outfit called Spacesuit. They're so new, in fact, that I haven't even had a chance to catch the few live shows they've played recently, but a good friend (and official music snob) tells me that they play a calm and spacey indie rock with Minus the Bear influences. There are no shows scheduled at the moment, but I'll keep you posted, because Spacesuit sound absolutely dreamy.

Another band getting a facelift are Vendetta Red. Actually they're pulling the plug and donating the organs. As reported on page 57 in the Up & Coming section, VR are playing their last show this Saturday, April 8, at El Corazón with the Divorce, Kane Hodder, and Sameer Shukla. While that news was enough to make most Vendetta fans cry into their pillows, perhaps a little comfort can be found in the fact that a number of band members already have their hands in other projects, including drummer Burke Thomas (also of Pris), who has started a band called the Treatment. The female-fronted outfit is a lot like the electro-pop for which Pris are known (and loved), but with a little more dance. Pris fans will most likely love it. Singer Zach Davidson also has a side project of his own called Sirens Sister, who stay closer to the VR sound.

As far as local shows go, Fall Out Boy are in town this week, playing on Saturday, April 8, at the Tacoma Dome with Hawthorne Heights and All-American Rejects. I would say something more about that show, too, but uh... hahahaha... no. Never mind. I won't start.

megan@thestranger.com