Live at the Blue Room

(Yanstar)
by Tim Den

I guess the Blue Room is/was an art house theater that showed Cool Hand Luke and put on some damn fine mathrock shows. Twenty-two tracks on here, from the best (the heart-stopping brilliance of Burning Airlines and Braid) to the really confusing and not-so-pleasing-to-the-ears (The Dismemberment Plan). All the bands here have that noodle-y guitar sound – some more than others – but you can tell this is where college rock thrived. One big surprise is Tsar, with their super poppy “Silver Shifter,” which reminds me of Sloan. Catchy-ass tune. The Capitol City Dusters are not far behind either – powerpop with indie bounce. Oh, and The Imps have a nice balance of that high-pitched guitar sound and melodic singing. Everything is recorded pretty decent, too. Others: Most Secret Method, Stinking Lizaveta (winner of best song title, “Ultimate Ass Kicking”), Gardener, Richard Buckner, Edith Frost, Ant Farm, The Farewell Bend, Fun World On Fire, and some soundbites directed by Dylan Latimer.
(www.blueroomtheater.com)