Someone get Zach Braff on the phone. He is going to want to get in on She’s a Keeper before someone else does. Having already packed local clubs to capacity and having performed at Midcoast Takeover this year at South by Southwest, if you haven’t heard of this band yet, you damn well should have. And assuming the band keeps making albums like this one, you will hear of She’s a Keeper whether you want to or not.

She’s A Keeper really hit the purposefully rusted nail on the head with this effort. These cool kids got off the bus in some random Kentucky town and quickly put the from-the-jug drinking locals to shame. It makes me wonder which one offered up his or her poor young soul to the devil to comprehend and create alt folk rock so well. It is really, really good. As a fellow local musician, I have to admit it is angry good. It is jealous good. It is damn impressive.

She’s a Keeper pulls off this click of music to near perfection. The more rock moments tinge on the metronomic energy of Phoenix. The upbeat songs are a hootin’ and hollerin’ good time, reminiscent of the Avett Brothers’ early work. The slower, “purtier” efforts tenderly kick you in the stomach and leave you wanting to thank the boot.

Songs like “Guidance” and “Love Me Like a Summer” carry a consistent yet dynamic energy. As is typical in this modern-folk-rock genre, She’s a Keeper enjoys being playful with song structures, often utilizing beat and meter changes to keep the ears surprised.

In “Branches,” my favorite tune of this bunch, the band shows a masterful control of its music. The song is built up and torn down many times in many unique ways, yet it never seems excessive. It features a grand range of instrumentation, but, impressively, each instrument is used in exactly the right amount and way. The restraint and respect shown to the song as a whole is something from which even the most seasoned songwriters could take a cue.

The following two tracks showcase the other side of what She’s A Keeper can do. “Hometown” is a stripped-down effort overflowing with honesty and emotion. It produces the power and impact of the previous track, but with 20 percent of the instrumentation. “Show Me State” starts out very much the same, featuring only the comforting flicker of a xylophone to accompany the spot-on harmony vocals and layered guitar. But just when you think they’re losing their steam, the rest of the band return and bring the track to an exciting and dynamic conclusion. I would say without reservation it is the best three-song stretch I have heard on an album (local or not) in quite a while.

And so it continues over the 12 songs. There are not a lot of criticisms to be had here. The album does lack an obvious radio single, but as soon as She’s A Keeper stumbles upon its “Caring is Creepy” or “Lisztomania,” all bets are off.

Do yourself a favor. Go “like” this band now. Go get this record. She’s a Keeper is doing it right, and you should know about it.

She’s A Keeper will be performing this Friday, June 29 at recordBar for Chris Haghirian’s birthday bonanza, which begins at 9:00 p.m. with Georgia Gordon, Stephen Paul Smoker and Hearts of Darkness. Tickets are $10 and are available here.

 -Zach Hodson

Editor’s note: This album was released in 2011 and followed up by a live recording performed at Midwestern Musical Co earlier this year. She’s A Keeper will be releasing a follow-up studio album in August.

Lazer Kitty released their debut album Ruins earlier this month. They are now gearing up for a performance at The Vera Project, this Friday, June 29th.

The group bypasses the traditional rock trio mold built on guitar, bass and drums, opting instead for the sweeping, evocative tones of a synth in their compositions. The music is instrumental and governed by a penchant for improvisation; they do not needlessly meander or squander their aural explorations though.

They evoke the sounds of a number of dynamic bands upon listening – God is an Astronaut, Mogwai and Boards of Canada are a few that spring to mind. Lazer Kitty blends the climatic build-ups of post-rock with more tempered and celestial moments of rock, such as the track "Magnetic Rose." The album is never content to occupy one space for too long, yet they do not rush the process either, rewarding the listener with eerie, fully-formed soundscapes.

Lazer Kitty’s self-released album is streaming in its entirety over at their bandcamp and is also available for purchase. You can watch the band open for The Humans and Young Empires this Friday at The Vera Project. Doors are at 7:30pm. 

– Cameron LaFlam

This week, we sit down with Stephanie Williams, who plays in nearly every band in Kansas City, it seems. She plays with The Prolific, The Clementines, The Cave Girls, Claire and the Crowded Stage, Adam Evolving, and by the time of this posting, there’s no telling who else. Catch the beat right here!

On The Beat is a weekly interview brought to you by drummer Sergio Moreno (of Hillary Watts Riot and Alacartoona), and features some of the many talented drummers in the Kansas City area.

Since their recent transformation from Vermont jam band to NYC experimental-ish indie collective (with some residue jam band influences) The Deli has become a big fan of Brooklyn octet Rubblebucket. These guys have another busy summer ahead, and this is understandable considering what a great party band they are. After releasing their fist live album and DVD this spring, “Rubblebucket: Live in Chicago” (see a video from it here) the band announced a summer tour with Athens “disco dust” rockers Reptar and their upcoming late night debut on “Jimmy Kimmel Live.” Vocalist and sax player Kalmia Traver and trumpeter Alex Troth met during college in Vermont, forming the band shortly after and enlisting an entire range of musicians and instruments that include anything from a Moog synth to an n’goni, an African banjo-predecessor. Rubblebucket will tour into fall, and are a set appear on “Jimmy Kimmel” on July 18. – Devon Antonetti

In Make Out’s new single ‘Maybe I’m the One (For Me)’ (video here) singer Leah Hennessey rushes at you with the kind of bouncy, frenetic energy usually associated with NYC bands from the 70s, like say… The New York Dolls, a band this group actually opened for in the past. Hennessey just happens to be the step-daughter of singer New York Dolls’ David Johansen, and Jesper Mortensen (my favorite half of Junior Senior) provides the dancehall ready beats you’ve probably been missing ever since you saw an animated squirrel dance to his last band’s most famous single.

Anyone who’s listened to the band before will probably recall fashionable ‘80s power chicks like Annie Lennox, Tiffany and even… Madonna. These are few and proud ladies who manage to make the dance floor their play thing. As Mortensen explains: “it’s instant excitement.” Indeed, we should all be making out, and this band knows it.- Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)

In 2012, it’s not quite clear anymore what someone means when they say they are a DJ. With electronic dance music soaring, Electro-rock continuing its steady march of dominance in the indie scene, hip hop DJs holding strong, and experimental DJs as weird and out there as ever, anyone from Deadmau5 to your neighbor who figured out how to hack his old Gameboy Color can claim the moniker. Not to mention The Drums on their night off or the guy who scratches records behind 50 Cent and grew up idolizing Jam Master Jay . But what about someone who combines elements of all four DJ ideologies? Last Saturday, NYC DJs Obey City (pictured) and Quam took over a Williamsburg’s Mezz packed with hipsters and showed us what that one might look like. With hip-hop beats and EDM-style chords, voices and sounds thrown in just to keep you off guard, and a steady, chill vibe to it, DJs like these guys are not only doing it right, they are doing it all. – Max Lefkowitz