High Standard of Living
Five songs in seven minutes, with titles that you can't dispute: "Stupid People (Shouldn't Breed)" and "Fuck Neo Nazi Pride." It's standard punk barnstorming with Donny the Euthanizer's barked vocals, which sound largely indistinguishable from every other singer in this vein and don't vary in approach or rage from song to song. Youth in Asia sound like every fast and furious band you've heard in this genre. NATE LIPPENS
ENTROPIC ADVANCE
Mad Cow B.B.Q. ; Monkey with a Gun
(Symbolic Insight)
Wesley Davis (bios+a+ic) and Casey Jones (Noise Poet Nobody) create low-lit, amorphous soundscapes that make you feel as if you've ingested all the drugs sampled in Aldous Huxley's The Doors of Perception. Davis' processed trumpet and Jones' customized slide guitar form sonic mirages over rhythms that twitch and skitter with devious intent. These albums inspire feelings of both transcendence and dread. Y'all ready to party? DAVE SEGAL
NOT OF THIS EARTH
Not of This Earth
This three-song demo features some nicely shuffling songs that have a New Zealand jangle-pop feel to them. They sound a little bit like a basement version of the Bats, which would be a good thing if the songs were stronger. The main deterrent is that the vocals are too thin, breathy, and low in the mix to carry the songs. But it's promising to hear a band referencing a fairly obscure and fading lesson of the indie-pop school. NATE LIPPENS
SOOV
Our Family of Distributors
Chris Hanis and Wyndel Hunt (formerly of Portland band Index) have reunited in Seattle as Soov. Their eight-track demo exudes blissful waves of finely wrought guitars and keyboards that billow into the rarefied spaces inhabited by Stars of the Lid, Fennesz, and Seattle's Eluvium. Occasionally the sound turns turbulent and agitated rhythms come to the fore, but that's just to keep you honest. Follow Soov closely, if you can handle the lofty altitude. DAVE SEGAL
STRIKE ONE
Fast Food Diner
This isn't a demo; actually it's a whole record. It's a poorly recorded album of quick-paced, sloppy punk rock made by kids that look to be about 15 years old. It's not terrible, but it is typical. Most 15-year-olds have to make that typical music before making great music, though, so we'll count this as the necessary first step. Maybe not the first step to greatness, but to something decent. MEGAN SELING
STRT SPRX
Demo Spring 2004
I liked STRT SPRX from the beginning simply because they sent their demo in on a crisp white cassette tape. No one, sadly, makes cassette tapes anymore. The music (though it's terribly recorded) is a fun, simple brand of new wave punk. And there's a sense of humor there, which is always appreciated. "What's cooler than being cool?" STRT SPRX asks. "PUNK ROCK!" Indeed. MEGAN SELING
