*"Don't Lead With Your Heart" b/w "Ideas of March," Stag (out now, Fin Records, themightystag.com): This local supergroup, featuring longtime vets like Lincoln Barr and Ben London, mine Petty and the Posies on this too-short seven-inch single. Who says straight-ahead rock and roll has no home in Seattle!? CK
"High in the Air," State of the Artist ft. Sol (out now, Members Only, membersonly206.com): This track drags on a bit long, but that's made up for by a slick beat (produced by Ski Team) and an extra-nice hook. TH
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Nacho Picasso's "death-rap" album For the Glory is out now.
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*STRFKR/Champagne Champagne Split 7", (10/11, Polyvinyl, polyvinylrecords.com): DO YOU LIKE EITHER OF THESE BANDS? DO YOU LIKE BEATS? MUSIC FROM THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST? FEELING COOL? FUN? If none of this thrills you, there's just no pleasing you. GE
EXPERIENCE BREATHTAKING SELF-DISCOVERY!, Substandard (out now, self-released, facebook.com/substandard): Substandard describes itself as a metal band, but this album, stuffed with thudding guitars and howling, Layne Staley–like vocals, might be better tagged as post-grunge. The music doesn't exactly sound au courant, but it certainly is rough and rousing. EKT
Soul Metal, Super Geek League (out now, self-released, supergeekleague.com): On their third release, local screamcore and self-touted "sci-fi punk circus" group SGL offer an imagining of what unholy sound might arise if Ronnie James Dio, Tenacious D, and Sevendust all put on clown costumes and formed a supergroup. GE
Some Unrecorded Beam, Us on Roofs (out now, self-released, usonroofs.bandcamp.com): The follow-up to the Gig Harbor band's Robe of Feathers, this EP is full of the melodic, guitar-driven indie rock that Seattle churns out like nowhere else, but with enough sophistication and experimentation (check out the odd-metered "Empyrean Ocean") to keep things interesting. AG
The Spray, USF (10/25, Circle Into Square, circleintosquare.com/artist/usf): USF's second full-length exactly matches the eerie, transcendental tone of the Jonathan Lethem short story it takes its title from. The spacey, washed-out sounds beckon you closer rather than forcing themselves in your face. EKT
Heparin and Saline, Vacant Fever (out now, self-released, vacantfever.bandcamp.com): Nothing but good can be said about Vacant Fever. Grinding, fuzzy guitar work? Hells yeah! Naughty, tight, minimalist percussion? Hells to the yeah, again! These kids are right on the verge of something that will take them from good to f'n insane. MDL
*They've Got My Number Down at the Post Office remaster, Art Vandelay (out now, Black Lab Productions, blacklaboratory.com): Ricky Pharoe's steady tenor holds his disjointed thoughts together just long enough to make appropriate Mack Formway's heady feedback-and-spaceship production. A solid Costanza reference, a solid album. TH
Ernie Chambers v. God, Virgin Islands (out now, The Control Group, virginislandsband.com) It's easy to dismiss these punk rockers' debut full-length—named for a Nebraska state senator's lawsuit against God—as merely old-school- leaning punk rock, but who said that's a bad thing? These no-frills songs aren't complicated, but they brim with passion and conviction. AG
"Every Night, I'm Killing" 7", Whiting Tennis (out now, Fin Records, myspace.com/whitingtennismusic): A pair of meandering, melancholy folk tunes, the first of which features gentle strumming and plinking piano, recalling a slowed-down, grittier Nick Drake. It's pleasant and pretty, but Tennis' somber vocals keep the music off-kilter and perplexing. AG
Slow Charade, Yuni in Taxco (out now, self-released, yuniintaxco.com): Slow Charade is Yuni's second full-length of 2011 (and they intend to release a third before the year is out). Drawing from African melodies, exotica, and surf rock, the album frolics from pleasant reverie to bad trip and back in a single song. JMG
LOCAL LABELS' OUT-OF-TOWN BANDS
Not Myself Anymore, Jessa Anderson (out now, BEC, jessaanderson.com): Smooth and sweet, Not Myself Anymore is an uplifting and gratifying melting pot of contemporary Christian songs that embrace sprinklings of Taylor Swift–esque country and bubbly piano pop. JW
Let the Poison Out, The Beets (10/24, Hardly Art, hardlyart.com/thebeets): The New York trio's Hardly Art debut is a sprightly collection of rambling pop tunes with agreeably loose and easy melodies; the songs are tagged with wacky but sensible titles like "You Don't Want Kids to Be Dead" and "Eat No Dick." EKT
"Lone Runner" b/w "Stye Eye," Dirty Beaches (10/18, Suicide Squeeze, suicidesqueezerecords.tumblr.com): This aptly named group makes scuzzy, muffled zombie-shuffle garage rock with zero fidelity and even less melody; it's the aural equivalent of ashtray sand in between your toes—or up in your underlining. EG
"Anywhere Anyone" remixes, Dntel (10/24, Sub Pop, subpop.com/artists/dntel): Dntel's slow-motion synth haze from 2000 gets two of-the-moment updates, from Berlin deep-techno outfit Sandwell District and UK dubstep/bass music progenitor Pearson Sound. EG
*Life Is Full of Possibilities (Deluxe Edition), Dntel (10/24, Sub Pop, subpop.com/artists/dntel): The album that dreamed up the possibility of the Postal Service, remastered and rereleased with a bonus disc of remixes and outtakes. Sweetly detailed laptop pop, even when Gibbard-less. EG
III, Family Force 5 (10/18, Tooth & Nail, familyforce5.com): This Atlanta crunk-rock five-piece meshes white boy hip-hop and an extra helping of Southern hospitality to create an ode to rock-inspired bass drops, heavy guitar, and blinged-out hollers appropriate for the clubs. Lil Jon–approved. JW
