"Metz" by Metz is out now on Sub Pop. I like what it says on the wrong-sized band bio: "Metz play like one brutally heavy instrument with three heads," and that pretty much, is that. It's real loud garage band rock that would knock the walls of the garage down. You won't care much about the lyrics should you try to decipher them - it's all about the beat. This is a Canadian band that makes convincing speeding ticket music on a very visceral level. Your kids will think you're cool but the cat may get all pouty.
Flavia and the Red is a band to watch - better yet, listen to. Flavia Watson has this steamy voice that is oozing so much sexiness, she could make a statue of J. Edgar Hoover sweat and will have the guys salivating in their brewskis. Just a 4-song call card EP, you'll be wanting more. The first tune, "Too Late to Cry" and the long album ender, "45," are worth hearing again and again although all four songs are worth checking out from the ascending L.A. band.
Local pop rocker Seth Pettersen has a new one - despite the fact the calendar reads 2012, it's a cassette tape entitled "Natural Machine." Over the years, he has released a bunch of albums as the frontman for Franklin For Short but now Pettersen is his own man - one with catchy pop sensibilities. That means he can sing and he knows what a good song should sound like - jangly guitars, cool vocals and enough hooks for a fishing trip with the Everly Brothers. "Eye Know You" is my favorite but there's nothing close to a clunker here. Somewhere somehow Buddy Holly would approve. We'll have our chance when Pettersen opens for King Tuff at Muddy Waters in Santa Barbara on 12 December.
