Monster Music & Movies

Reviews:

American culture has gone the way of the short-term amnesiac, and every up-and-coming band hyped as the next big thing turns out to be a blast from the past. Pat Benatar has been repackaged as Ashlee Simpson, while Read Yellow channel late '80s Fugazi and the Ponys reinvent the CBGB's scene, circa 1975. If I shot a movie about '90s alterna-rock, I'd cast the Comas as one of those shaggy-haired groups like Elf Power or Papas Fritas who recorded ethereal low-fi masterpieces with mysterious-sounding titles. You know, a shoegazing trio, two guys and a girl, probably art school dropouts, creating bittersweet melodies that reference Big Star and fit perfectly on a mixtape between the Palace Brothers and Guided by Voices.

But this Chapel Hill band blurs those easy stereotypes, marking boundaries just beyond the traditional indie vernacular. "The Science of Your Mind" coils and swirls like a lazy Britpop dervish dancing across the Atlantic, while reality and dramedy clash on "Tonight on the WB," which outlines the real-life relationship between singer Andy Herod and Dawson Creek's Michelle Williams. For "The Last Transmission," the Comas employ enough synths to relaunch A Flock of Seagulls, while Nicole Gehweiler affects an innocent Mo Tucker voice for "Oh God." Conductor's first single "Employment," and the equally catchy "Invisible Drugs," seal the deal: melancholic power pop is here to stay. So go ahead: pull out that needle, open your eyelids, and rejoin the world. Choose Conductor as your soundtrack and you're sure to party like it's 1994.

"American culture has gone the way of the short-term amnesiac, and every up-and-coming band hyped as the next big thing turns out to be a blast from the past. Pat Benatar has been repackaged as Ashlee Simpson, while Read Yellow channel late '80s Fugazi and the Ponys reinvent the CBGB's scene, circa 1975. If I shot a movie about '90s alterna-rock, I'd cast the Comas as one of those shaggy-haired groups like Elf Power or Papas Fritas who recorded ethereal low-fi masterpieces with mysterious-sounding titles. You know, a shoegazing trio, two guys and a girl, probably art school dropouts, creating bittersweet melodies that reference Big Star and fit perfectly on a mixtape between the Palace Brothers and Guided by Voices.

But this Chapel Hill band blurs those easy stereotypes, marking boundaries just beyond the traditional indie vernacular. ""The Science of Your Mind"" coils and swirls like a lazy Britpop dervish dancing across the Atlantic, while reality and dramedy clash on ""Tonight on the WB,"" which outlines the real-life relationship between singer Andy Herod and Dawson Creek's Michelle Williams. For ""The Last Transmission,"" the Comas employ enough synths to relaunch A Flock of Seagulls, while Nicole Gehweiler affects an innocent Mo Tucker voice for ""Oh God."" Conductor's first single ""Employment,"" and the equally catchy ""Invisible Drugs,"" seal the deal: melancholic power pop is here to stay. So go ahead: pull out that needle, open your eyelids, and rejoin the world. Choose Conductor as your soundtrack and you're sure to party like it's 1994.

"