The Lacking Permanence

Once upon a time, the Jesus Lizard was about as subtle as a candy-coated cinderblock. These days, well, they’re about the same. Tonight, they introduce things with a speculative reminiscence that is measured, philosophical, and yet somewhat menacing.

As the name successfully implies, this outfit is a heady blend of Chicano funk and other sources. Pumping bass lines that could drain the Baltic Sea in minutes and horn stabs that could be entered as evidence in a court of law fill out the package.

The matchup of pub-rock king Nick Lowe and masked instrumental raiders Los Straitjackets might seem like a weird one-off joyride, but Lowe's wise croon has intersected with their sparkling backing many times, and this may be their best effort yet.

These lads supported Mark E. Smith for a while, and that speaks loads about their ability to hit his notoriously high and fickle bar, and (unrelated) their ability to put up with random nonstop antics. Straightahead driving music for eating up miles.

Raw as a blister and smooth as obsidian, Okay Kaya is a spinner of tales and shifter of moods.

YACHT dropped out of sight right before the whole "yacht rock" revival thing happened, but this release reinforces the band's penchant for commenting on current themes with the musical equivalent of wearing sunglasses inside the nightclub.

What this band brings to the mainly-instrumental surf guitar disco potluck is exactly what you'd expect a band invited to the MISGDP to bring, but let's be honest for a minute: we don't ever want to run out.

It’s been thirty years since Green Day’s Dookie changed music forever, and this project, which crams each and every song on the release into a different lo-fi representation, is truly giving it its proper due. The sample videos are quite worth watching.