The Illinois band Daemon Familiar has plenty of raw talent here, one listen to the guitars on “Buddha’s Little Helper” and “Oprah” you can’t help think about Cheap Trick or Husker Du. Lead vocalist Pablo Mena has a clean light vocal that really contrasts with the much heavier guitar sound. Some songs are excellent examples of power pop and it works fine on the memorable “Kiss Me”and the catchy baseline on “Barnyard” are just fun to listen to. The song “All’s Forgotten” is wonderfully written and played, but could really use double tracking and stronger group harmonies (you barely here the other band members). Mena’s vocal is much better suited to the mid tempo ballads here like “Gcc”and “So Sad.” I suggest he chew broken glass and add a little more Tom Waits influence before trying to pull off a song like “Tales of Sad Ulysses.” The album also suffers a bit from lack of polish overall, but despite this you will be rewarded by the guitar gems sprinkled here (“Was”) and there (“Walkin’ Away”).

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Canadian trio The Pretty Faces is not just a band, but a family unit with a passion for garage pop and new wave rock. They’ve toured on IPO and cites influences from Elvis Costello to Elliot Smith. The opening track “Right On The Money” pretty much describes the best this band has to offer, with a great tandem of guitars and melody. The follow up “Rib” has a decent rhythm and ringing guitar riffs sure to please. Lead vocal Jeph Thorslund does his best, but can’t mask his limited range on tracks like “Inch by Inch” and “Pistolera.” Hannah Thorslund fairs much better on the excellent “Elephant” – and it’s a shame she is only on one track. The title track gets closer to a full band effort with Jeph’s  Costello-like vocal and strong riffs taking equal credit. A good effort, but the band will need to improve on it. It’s recommended you cherry pick the “hits” here and encourage the band’s future musical development.

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