CIBO MATTO 2/21, METRO This unconventional duo’s new Super Relax EP (Warner Brothers) includes a bootleg-quality live version of “BBQ” that captures its manic means of working a crowd. But the disc’s show stealer is a sedate, charmingly straightforward take on Tom Jobim and Elis Regina’s bossa nova classic “Aguas de Marco.”
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BRICKBATS 2/23, METRO If Halloween were any closer, guitarist Corey Gorey’s Nash Kato-ish singing and his New York-based trio’s characteristic poses on the cover of Sing You Dead (Dismal Abysmal) would have me wondering if this were really Urge Overkill in goth drag. But their joke-band tendencies aside, the Brickbats execute early Damned-style three-chord punk with an enthusiasm our local would-be arena rockers could probably use a shot of these days.
STO ZVIRAT 2/27, EMPTY BOTTLE This Czech sextet learned ska by listening to contraband Madness tapes, and consequently sounds like a holdover from the 2-Tone revival of the late 70s and early 80s–the dual lead vocals of Jana Jelinkova and Arnost Kratky recall the Selecter. There are some haunting folk-based chord changes and the odd dollop of doo-wop, too, but the group’s main appeal rests with the porkpie hat crowd.
