The dimly-lit Arlene’s Grocery may have been rather empty yesterday afternoon (tough to fill up a NYC venue on an early Tuesday pm!) but it held several intriguing, strangely beautiful acts, booked by NYC promoters Siren Sounds. First up was the Brooklyn six-piece Captain Baby whose heavy guitars and warbled vocals conjured a darkly electric atmosphere, like something out of Gotham City. The Asher Rogers-led band also displayed a warmer side, though, their drum-pulsed last track (presumably from their debut album ‘Sugar Ox’) being catchy and even sexy. Next to take the disco ball-fronted stage were fellow Brooklyners Rosy Street. Down to frontman Kyle Avallone’s skinny black jeans and deep vocal rasp, the rock quartet was something out of filmmaker Jim Jarmusch’s universe, its ominous yet serene tracks of thin guitars and tumbling drums creating a spectral warmth. Afterwards came Henry Hall, a beguiling singer-songwriter whose hometown on his Facebook page amusingly states: "JFK//LAX." Along with his bassist Robby Caplan and drummer (apparently Nate Mondschein), Hall broke into the guitar-fuzzed songs (off his eponymous EP released earlier this year) that intriguingly sunk mellow R&B in hard rock, his virtuosic voice at times recalling Jack Black and at others Destiny’s Child and always commanding the room. Philadelphia-based rock trio Ron Gallo closed the afternoon with classic rock force, its thunderous guitar cuts (off a forthcoming album) fondly recalling Led Zeppelin and Cream while proving, as many of the songs from the previous groups did, that thrilling, committed music can occur at all hours of the day. – Zach Weg
