Lifeguard
Nights- Calm Down, Chief! (myspace.com/lifeguardnights)
This is like, the fourth release from Lifeguard
Nights in roughly a year and a half. You'd
think by now the cream of the crop, as far
as good songs go, would have been drained,
but listening to "Calm Down Chief!"
you get the feeling that it's just the tip
of the ice berg as far as interesting, relevant,
and attention getting songs. Quality and quanity
are not lacking.
Opening with "Sunshine," which has
a really cool alt. pop Dramarama vibe to it,
Lifeguard Nights takes us on a musical excursion
from the darkness into the light via a bouncy,
catchy rhythm section. On "Old Jersey"
a hitchhiker on the Parkway, and then on the
Turnpike talks about his disillusionment with
the Garden State and how he is contemplating
to deal with it in a bad way.
What I like most about Lifeguard Nights is
their diversity of subjects like, "Matador,"
"Rumble in the Jungle Gym," and
" In the Navy Now," just to name
a few. The music ranges from alt. rock to
traditional-minded country. This is a kind
of rough-and-ready band that can wake up your
imagination with romantic dreams of highway
adventures, or tear you down until you've
hit bottom. The white-hot center of this album
is "Cut and Paste," and "Lonely
Highway" with equal parts compassion
and disdain focusing on vintage sound. I know
I've been tip-toeing around it, but Lifeguard
Nights' creates songs that are well-written,
sharply played, and a have a clear perspective,
with the conviction of someone like Springsteen.
This is a band with endurance. - Phil Rainone
Stealing
Jane- Say Something EP (stealingjane.com)
Tight, commercial tunes that have some surprises.
Weaving a sax into the opening cut "Outside,"
gives the song, which is about about alienation,
a different shape, and colorful texture. Horns
abound throughout these six songs, brightening
and enlightening.
The unpretentiousness in songs like "Take
it Easy,' and "This is Goodbye"
are refreshing. After listening to "Say
Something" your rooting for the band's
full CD, and hopefully a spot opening for
The Gas House Gorillas! If Chicago were still
capable of putting out quality, hit songs
like on their first three albums, they would
probably sound as good as Stealing Jane. -
Phil Rainone
CD Reviews 
