Quick Hits
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Because we love our devoted brigade of PR flaks with all our hearts (and any other parts of our bodies that they'll let us expose) - and because they send us so much free shizit now that it has become virtually impossible to review and interview every band - we've fallen back on the character trait that landed us at this third-rate publishing house to begin with: laziness.

Each month, Quick Hits will give you several bits of data to help your all-important purchase decision: a photo of the band or album cover to stoke your fantasies; a spot review -- so we feel like we actually did something; a thumbs up or thumbs down buying guide -- so we can exert our mighty market power, and an MP3 or WMA sample -- so you can tell us to go screw and decide if you like the bands yourself.

The Foxymorons	Hesitation Eyes			Heatstroke
	Pick of the month goes to The Foxymorons, hands down. Pretty much every pundit who has heard them is comparing them to Pavement, which can be a good thing or a bad one -- bands as good as Pavement are hard to come by (which means the comparison is a good thing), but being a Pavement sound-alike doesn't do much good for anyone. Although the Pavement force is strong in this one (with hints of Cracker ,The Lemonheads, and other 90s-rock icons), The Foxymorons are a voice all their own. Earnest but not overbearing, David Dewese and Jerry James' lyrics and melodies are more open than Stephen Malkmus' and present no obstacle to digging into the album as a whole. Net-net: Buy this.		Harvard Hands	Pick this up!
Parchman Farm	Parchman Farm (EP)			Jack Pine Social Club
	"What the fuck is this?" is the first thought we spawned when dropping Parchman Farm into the CD tray. Then we realized exactly what the fuck it is: Remember the Riverbottom Nightmare Band from the perennial holiday classic Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas? Close your eyes and you can almost see that fish swimming around in his cylindrical tank next to the drum kit during the talent show... We were formulating creative ways to lampoon these guys -- the CD spinning all the while -- when a funny thing happened: we kinda grew to like it. Kinda. Eric Shea's growls become almost endearing, and anyone who went through a Jimi Hendrix phase during their formative years will -- after the initial bout of chuckling -- start to appreciate some distinct similarities. We just can't get the image of Muppets from our minds...		Mirror Spirit	Pick this up!
Mark Dignam	Box Heart Man			Times Beach Records
	Folk is not a genre we normally cover here in Quick Hits, but we're suckers for serendipity. So when Irishman Mark Dignam's Box Heart Man showed up in the PO box while we were preparing the March issue, well we decided to give it a shot. Like a gay marriage between James Taylor and the Pogues, Dignam delivers chord-driven folk with an unmistakable Irish flair -- should be handy for wooing a lovely Irish lass after your fifth or sixth Irish Car Bomb.		Jane	Pick this up!
Sparkwood	Jalopy Pop			Self-released
	If you like bands like Squeeze, Queen, and Crowded House, if you've ever thought someone should make yet another remake of Grease, then you'll probably like Jalopy Pop, the second full-length from Austin's Sparkwood. You'll get cavities from the raw sugar that oozes from nearly every offering on the 13-song CD. Unfortunately for Bart Padar and the boys, we need more of a meal -- which is why we're giving Jalopy Pop the thumbs down. In our more saccharine moments -- when we've fallen for bands like Freezepop, The Shins and Bishop Allen -- we've settled on the underlying foundation of urgency and angst in the music. You won't find that with Jalopy Pop. But what do we know? Download "Past Experience" and see for your self.		Past Experience
	January 2005
Autolux	Future Perfect			DMZ/Red Ink
	Sixty seconds ago you splattered  the pavement of a Bronx Diner parking lot with a slightly used three-egg special. Sixty seconds from now, you'll confront the low-level dealer who sold your girlfriend what she thought was X before she wound up in the ER at St. Barnabus. You've got a dark purpose, my friend, and Autolux will be playing in the background. "I brace myself/to fall in place/over you," sings Eugene Goreshter in the opening 'Turnstile Blues.' With an understated seriousness akin to Siamese Dream-era Pumpkins, Autolux delivers the audio subconscious for life's pivotal choices. A must-have for the black mascara set in 2005!		Turnstile Blues	Pick this up!
Parker & Lily	The Low Lows			Warm
	Every once in a while a musical duo will release a record made under the auspices of a wrenching romantic break up. (The last to try it was I Am the World Trade Center, reviewed in Quick Hits early last year...) The initial reaction from most journalists is "Truth or marketing?" especially if the product doesn't sound particularly bittersweet. For example, IAWTC's The Cover Up is a solid record, but you don't exactly feel the pain. Fortunately (or unfortunately) for Parker & Lily, The Low Lows reverbs with a genuine emotion and understated sadness that long-time P&L fans would expect from the couple's dissolution. The Low Lows continues to conjure melancholy imagery and jazz-era nostalgia with eclectic sounds from acetone and farfisa organs, tambourines, and steel guitars. You won't rock out to it at your next party, but you will want it handy when you lose your best friend.		The Low Lows	January 25th
Racetrack	City Lights			Skrocki Records
	Produced by Chris Walla, of Death Cab for Cutie fame, Racetrack adds to the emo-pop vibe coming from the great North by Northwest. If there's a grassroots effort in the land of Sasquatch to erase the grating sound of grunge from public consciousness and replace it with sugary, melodic, alterna-pop, Racetrack is one of the activists. Meghan Kessinger's earnest, totally girlie vocals are the perfect foil to her chord-driven guitar work and the steady backing of drummer Jackson Long and bassist Chris Rasmussen. The influence of bands like the Thermals and Hot Hot Heat -- both also associated with DCC's Walla -- is readily apparent. City Lights may not be the most inventive album of 2004, but you could do a lot worse with your $10.		One Step Forward	Pick this up!

Want more free music and reviews from bands like Ambulance Ltd., Pidgeon, Deadstring Brothers, The Hentchmen and more? Check the Quick Hits 2004 Archive here!