POINTS NORTH

I purchased this album on iTunes after catching them live a couple of times and then seeing the video for Ignition. I had a long drive, at least 3 1/2 hours, and spent a lot of it listening to this album over and over! That's my main reason for recommending this album. I felt like I was listening to Rush for the first time again, but without the annoying vocals (that of course I grew to love in their case). There's a nice varieties to the songs, from intricate odd-time rockers (Ignition, Turning Point, Killer Pounder) to stuff that sounds like the proggiest Journey (Northstar), to ballads (Child's Play, Rites of Passage).

All three musicians are amazing! Eric Barnett is a badass guitarist with incredible technique and attitude. Uriah Duffy incorporates various bass techniques such as tapping and slapping, adding variety and filling in the space as one of the main melodic and harmonic instruments. Kevin Aiello's technique is fantastic and the groove is always deep. A lot of my time listening was spent fantasizing that I was filling in on bass because I know that Uriah Duffy is a busy guy, playing in a variety of bands around the world.

This band is great live too. My first show was seeing them open for King's X in Oakland. A few months later saw them open for Mr. Big in San Francisco. They are a San Francisco Bay Area band and also play in a Rush cover band called Fred Barchetta that I have yet to see. Considering how great Points North are I need to see them soon!