Make Me, House of Brakes. The Oakland quartet —
two girls, two guys — has come into its own on this sophomore
record, a slightly schizophrenic mix-up of sweet pop and raucous rock
tempered with New Wave and noise. Following along this exploratory path
is the listener’s primary pleasure, as the band’s direct delivery makes
every moment of discovery feel firsthand. (self-released)
At Retox Lounge (628 20th St., San Francisco) on November 13. 8
p.m., $5
Model Americans, Ouch! Johnny Del Mar, the mastermind
behind Model Americans, is not one to suffer fools. Ouch! is a
collection of punked-up Americana, blues, and rock tunes as irreverent
as they are competent. Del Mar’s perverse sense of humor shines through
no more clearly than on the opening revision of INXS’s “Suicide Blonde”
as “Suicide Bomb,” though really he’s just getting started.
(self-released)
Crooks/Walsh Blues, Crooks/Walsh Blues EP. Bare-bones
blues from Berkeley: Deborah Crooks on vocals, Alex Walsh on electric
guitar. Five songs. Thirteen minutes. The back-to-basics style leaves
little room for personal touches in the vocals (Well it’s raining
but I don’t care/Yeah it’s raining but I don’t care/I came home last
night and you weren’t there) or in the frugal, gritty guitar work.
(self-released)
Debora Crooks at Cafe du Nord (2170 Market St., San Francisco) on
November 17. 8 p.m., $12
Sean O’Brien, The Drug of Memory. This 23-track
retrospective spans nearly thirty years of mostly unreleased material
from Kensington musician Sean O’Brien through his work with the
Meantime, True West, Denim TV, Cottonmouth, and the Mariettas. His
songwriting and production improved markedly over the years, but rarely
strayed from a distinctive blend of New Wave and American underground.
(First Cold Press)
At Milk Bar (1840 Haight St., San Francisco) on November 15. 3 p.m.,
free
