Heatmiser - Dead Air

Elliot Smith likely cringes to remember that before his all-too-precious reinvention of himself he was trying to rock out in a Fugazi/Helmet vein. It's not because it's bad, though -- if derivative, Dead Air is still a mighty fine debut album, though arguably more credit goes to the band's true creative touchstone, fellow singer/guitarist Neil Gust. Openly gay but not making it his creative raison d'etre like, say, Pansy Division, Gust and company tear things with full-on energy, while the coproduction on the part of the band and Portland legend Thee Slayer Hippy is crisp and focused. Read More