One big FU to the prevailing trend of gazey, synth covered, vocal-distorted indie music, the Verse Chorus Curse EP by The Demographic is rock served raw. In seven songs, most of which clock in under two minutes, the duo from Northampton MA callously gallop through early 80’s hardcore, Pixies-type angular guitar rock, and the kind of over-driven blues-attacks that White Stripes make at their edgiest. Heady band comparisons for sure, but the simplicity and directness of The Demographic really harkens back to landmarks in the post-punk milieu rather than posting incremental progress away from those purest forms. Every song is solid. Even if you don’t identify with punk rock per say, this is one of those local bands to be excited about just for their musical energy alone.

–Alexander Pinto

Providence, RI’s Kid Chocolate is one of the many current bands that cop a 1960’s surf-rock vibe. Like many of their peers in that genre, Kid Chocolate is pretty darn good. They have all the hallmarks down pat: surf guitar, obviously, but of a style that prefers sharp and jangly to soft and fuzzy. All-male vocals that are less surreal than Ariel Pink and less androgynous than Girls, but share that generalized sound, with lots of backing singers chiming in with those old-school melodies. They don’t hesitate to go into full-on “Ventures” mode once and awhile.

At the same time, they shouldn’t be pegged as a retro act. They do lash out of vintage tropes enough to be an unmistakably “now” band. Their song structures often stray from the simple verse-chorus-verse setup that drove the music that inspired them; and their sound itself has its deviant moments, as they occasionally rock out in a way only a post-punk (or even post-grunge) band could. And some songs are not surf-y at all: Better on the Coast is a straight rocker with enough of a catchiness-factor to have “Big Indie Hit” potential, and Silver Tongue sounds quite a bit like aughts-era British rock (remember The Coral?).

It would be difficult to fault Kid Chocolate for much musically. For a first LP from a young band it is fantastic: they are great musicians who have a lot of experience playing together, and they have started to form a sound to call their own, but the operative word there is “started”. On Gold Star Winner there are only glimmers of the kind of emotional foundation that is the key to turning well-crafted sounds into something that transcends—something that is immediately arresting and that stays with the listener for a long time. With the chops they’ve displayed on these songs, Kid Chocolate has the potential to take the stuff that glimmers from this album, and create material that shines from start to finish.

–Alexander Pinto