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AM Stereo serve up a kind of cheery, major-chord punk that reminds me a lot of Hüsker Dü. The two guitarists and bassist all sing, mostly taking turns but occasionally teaming up. None of them is a good singer, so I mostly ignore the vocals and focus on the excellent playing. Both guitarists play fascinating leads and driving rhythm, bass lines are chunky and interesting, and the drummer is excellent: fast, rock solid, and endlessly creative, with all kinds of stops, shifts, and cool fills. One song has a screw-up major enough that they stop and apologize, but I think they're making more of it than it deserves, which calls unnecessary attention to the error but bespeaks high standards. I appreciate high standards.
The Spaceshots are a power-pop four piece with really good delivery of great, great songs. (Many of these are familiar to me on only second hearing, so you know they write a memorable tune.) The drums are less flashy but still totally solid, and they do more with timbre in the guitar leads. Their songwriting is catchy and engaging, with big sing-along choruses, and they've got a great lead singer. He's got that gruff-yet-tuneful thing going on that gives a song beauty and power, and he sings with a rhythmic quality that I find hard to pin down but very compelling. I'm also amused by the burly, shaven-headed bassist singing pretty falsetto harmonies while the angelic-looking lead singer rasps and screams the melody. My one disappointment is that we are denied an encore.
