TRANSMITTER

Hey, who decided these guys were progressive? This is unquestionably indie rock (well- done maybe, but indie rock nonetheless). A group of young turks from New Jersey who tossed together a clever and bouncy collection of tunes on an independent label that briefly made them the 15-minute darling of the affected and pretentious music press and college radio. Isn’t that pretty much the textbook definition of indie rock?

Not to say the music is bad (although it’s not really very interesting or exciting either), it’s just not progressive, or really art rock even. Not unless one wants to expand the definition of those genres to include an uncomfortably large number of bands with a presence on mySpace, or an occasional cut on the free CD in Paste, or a Local Favorites listing in the back of Rolling Stone, or a Street Team©. All three of which I’m pretty sure apply to these guys (and apparently I’ve been spending way too much time reading about indie bands lately).

Oh God, I just checked their web site – they do have a mySpace site, a Street Team©, have been featured in The Onion, and recently appeared on MTV. Go figure.

There are a couple songs that stand out, but for the most part this is pretty much cookie-cutter college indie. “Girl on Top of the Piano” has an interesting sequence of keyboards where one is a bit moody and spacey while the other is almost a dance rhythm. Very catchy. “This is the Road” has a great driving beat with vocals that remind me a bit of dredg, and the title track has a really cool synth sequence. But that’s about it really.

The claim to fame here is that keyboardist and band guru Tom Brislin toured with Yes. I must admit that is impressive. But most of this music isn’t, I’m afraid. Pretty forgettable, and mostly interesting to their fans I suppose. Two stars.

peace