THE LOVE ME NOTS - Detroit
Atomic A Go Go

These mod garage-rockers have traded out their rhythm section since we last heard from them but the core of the group, singer Nicole Laurenne and guitarist Michael Johnny Walker remain. Laurenne's vocals are those of a take-charge sex kitten who stakes out her territory at the very beginning of Detroit with "Walk Around Them" when she advises her man that it'd be in his best interest to skip the rest and choose the best. And Laurenne has that kind of voice; red-blooded men are likely to grant her wishes while the girls are going to do their best to avoid their competitor's claws. A big part of the band's sound comes from Laurenne's Farfisa playing; on songs like "Secret Pocket" she uses the organ's unique sound to convey not only urgency but danger, a feeling that Walker compounds with a barbed solo mid-song. Detroit was recorded in Detroit with famed producer Jim Diamond (the White Stripes, Gore Gore Girls, Dirtbombs) at the helm and this is exactly the type of music you'd expect to hear in the Motor City underground circa 1969. If you ever have a desire to choreograph a knife fight in a dark alley (over a girl, of course), here's your soundtrack. More likely though, you'll just be knocking over lamps after this one dances you straight into the bedroom.

NORTH SIDE KINGS - Suburban Royalty
I Scream

Scottsdale has the reputation musically of, well, not much of anything. The upscale city's clubs are mostly pick-up joints with DJ'd music and not too conducive to a live music scene. Enter the North Side Kings, Scottsdale's bad boy metal grinders! These guys have been around for almost a decade now and they initially formed because they were sick of all of the "P.C." ("politically correct;" in other words, lame) bands on the scene. Thundering drums, two slashing guitars and Danny Marianino's screamed vocals are the order of the day for these hardcore heroes, and about that not being politically correct thing, just give a listen to "Giving Emo Kids Something to Really Cry About." Marianino famously knocked Glenn Danzig senseless in self-defense a few years ago; if you don't know the story you can easily find it on the Net.

SNAIL QUAIL - The Moving On E.P.
(Self-released)

Snail Quail is singer/guitarist Mr. Jimmy and upon occasion singer/keyboardist Matt. This E.P. features five very D.I.Y. tunes; in other words it is pretty much a one-man band effort without any studio trickery. Mr. Jimmy is actually a pretty good singer and on "Change in My Pocket" he does a reasonable facsimile of deadpan Lou Reed. Elsewhere though, he seems to want to hide his vocals with extraneous stuff like penny whistle, whistling and off-kilter drumbeats as he does on "Opposite Love Song." It's hard to tell from these five songs whether Mr. Jimmy is an eccentric or just having fun being goofy at times but he's clearly having fun and its not too difficult to pick up on that and join in.

ANARBOR - The Natural Way
Hopeless

The members of this Phoenix-based five-piece are not too long out of high school and here they are with a contract with Hopeless Records and a considerable amount of national touring under their belt. The Natural Way is just an E.P.; a four-song sampler of what the guys will be bringing in the future. Some will call Anarbor's music emo but power-pop might be a better description since they have a huge sound thanks to two guitarists and a penchant for having the drums mixed up high. The guys can turn a phrase too, like "I love you to death but to you I'm already dead" from "Love Instead." If Anarbor has more like this in their tank they'll do just fine.

THE HOUNDS - Bonafied
FYI

Here's another band that we've raved about in the past. Hailing from Tucson, the Hounds are one of the few groups (maybe the only?) that can slide effortlessly from the blues to reggae without missing a beat. Bonafied is full of good time party songs, starting out with a twangy guitar blues rocker called "Sweet Lovin' Thing" that recalls the style of the Fabulous Thunderbirds. "Take Me There" starts off with a Bo Diddley riff but quickly morphs into a reggae tune and "She Got Stars," reprised here from their earlier E.P., is a sublime sing-along that should be all over the radio. The folky "Maybe She Don't Love Me" closes out this bonafied winner.