Scroll down for capsule reviews of the latest from American Suitcase, Jason & the Scorchers, Beatifics, Anniversary, Holiday Rain, Club 8 and Indie Rock Unites

Chris Keighley - The Gathering Of The Deep (MP3.com): Apparently, Mr. Keighley was locked in a room for years as a youngster and forcefed an aural diet of the first Modern Lovers album, Captain Beefheart, Velvet Underground, Lou Reed with a smattering of Stooges. Maybe The Fall, too. Keighley sing-speaks his way through some wobbly blues based rock tunes with rhythms that lock in for a while, skitter, and weave all over the place. The bass parts kind squish there way in between and his guitar playing - it's like Jackie Chan's Drunken Master fighting technique applied to the six string. Accessible, not one bit. But it's an incredible statement. While Keighley's influences are incredibly obvious, his consolidation of them is original and has a strong appeal both from an egghead rock fan perspective and from a shear visceral standpoint -- it's cacophony that has an ugly beauty. Keighley drapes spidery Magic Band guitar leads on many songs (like "Rat Blues"), fucks up reggaes as well as he fucks up blues rock ("One Voice") and comes off like Iggy Pop on serious downers ("The Message is the Music"). A million Jon Spencers with a million hours of studio time couldn't come up with something so twisted - it's remarkably intricate but hits you between the ears in a simple fashion. Mp.3.com/chris_keighley

American Suitcase - Change (Thatsperfectwonderball): This 4-song EP's title cut is a preview of this Norwegian band's second album. It shows the band's power-jangle skills intact - the song balances Teenage Fanclub-styled rock with an airy melody worthy of classic Cherry Twister. The bells in the background (or is that a glockenspiel?) are a nice touch. The band shows off a new psychedelic side on "Sunstroke", adhere to their basic style on "Stop Painting My Heart", which reminds me a bit of You Am I (this didn't make the album? Wow - there must be some darned good stuff on that), and end with the quiet "Back on Earth". Fans of Receiver and The Dons would be well advised to check out American Suitcase. americansuitcase.com

Jason and the Scorchers - Wildfires + Misfires (Yep Roc/Courageous Chicken): The term 'cowpunk' was coined to describe these guys - they had pure country music running through their veins and fire shooting out their asses - one of the most rocking bands I have ever seen. Amazingly, on their first two EPs (Reckless Country Soul and Fervor) and debut LP Lost And Found, the band captured this energy which was grounded in great songs. It was only when they tried to cage the wild animal for mass appeal purposes that something was lost (though those records still are alright). More amazingly, the Scorchers' second go round in the '90s was pretty terrific, mellowed only slightly, they simply gripped it and ripped it, waxing more aching ballads and twangin' smokers. This worthwhile outtakes and rarities collection is certainly not the first place to go, but is full of great stuff. The demo of "Absolutely Sweet Marie", the Dylan cover that got them national attention, is a stunner. The live version of "Tear it Up" features a great guitar duel between Warner Hodges and the legendary Link Wray. Both Hodges and Perry Baggs show off their lead vocal skills, and Baggs is really damn good. Scorchers outtakes kick ass over most band's regular stuff, though I'll admit I'm biased. Yeproc.com

The Beatifics - In The Meantime (Bus Stop): If ain't broke, why fix it? Chris Dorn is back with more gems in the vein of Big Star's "September Gurls" and "Back of A Car", spiked with a dose of happy pills. Three of the tracks are from the band's forthcoming full length and will only make fans more anxious for the whole thing, as they jangle in sublime Beatifics fashion. The wispy "Outro" is tender - Chris Stamey used to nail these numbers in a similar fashion during his tenure with The dB's. The title cut has a nifty circular guitar part (The Move, perhaps?) and handclapping synchopating with the drumming - rocking yet relaxed. Two bonuses: 1) the digital debut of the band's sublime Tallboy single "Longest Days of Summer"; and, 2) "This Year's Jessica (Again)" - a re-recording of the best track on the last Beatifics disc, done a bit rawer (a la The Replacements' Tim) with Jay Bennett (ex-Wilco) contributing a guitar solo. parasol.com

Various Artists - Indie Rock Unites, Vol. 1 (Firetone): A mix of indie pop and rock bands contribute songs with a portion of the proceeds going to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Not every cut is a winner, but there are enough winners to make this more than strictly a charitable contribution. About half the songs are previously released, but if you haven't heard the spunky pubrockish sounds of The Figgs ("Reaction"), the unique soulful pop of The Negro Problem ("Comikbuchland"), the harmony laden jangle of The Waxwings ("Untied"), the aggressive Urge Overkill meets The Celibate Rifles urgency of Team Rock-It ("I'm Right, You're Wrong") or the cool post-punk stylings of Plug Spark Sanjay ("Passenger In Distress"), then here's a place to learn. Some cool unreleased stuff: Poster Children doing their typical thang on "Ferris Wheel", Machinery Hall making like Eddie Vedder fronting Kitchens Of Distinction ("How Little We Know"), Frisbie blending their smooth pop with some oddly gritty guitar on live fave "Downtown", Brain Rakes coming off somewhere between Starflyer 59 and U2 ("Interviewing"), and The Churchills modern melodyfest "Light's Are on But No One's Home".
firetonerecords.com

The Anniversary - Your Majesty (Vagrant/Heroes & Villains): Acclaimed band follows up its poppy emo debut by showing a more serious countenance. The result is a hit-and-miss disc that shows off a talented band that gets lost when it deviates from a concise approach. Keyboardist Amanda Pope is the most valuable player - her spare but inventive lines often provide the biggest hooks, and her backing vocals compliment Josh Berwanger's intent lead vocals. Though the mid-tempo tracks here bring the band closer to standard issue emo, Pope gives the band a distinct identity. However, on tunes that stretch to six minutes or so, the band's songwriting is challenged, and things tend to drag, despite some nice ideas. This problem may be solved in time, as evidenced by the sublime "The Siren Sings", with a dazzling arrangement, incorporating a coda that sounds like a cross between Procol Harum and The Cocteau Twins, dynamics that bridge the different melodic sections of the song and dazzling guitar work. Other songs aren't as fizzy as past work, but deliver wonderful hooks ("Crooked Crown", ) And Spoon fans must immediately turn to "Never Die Young" A disc that rewards further listens, and portends even better work in the future. anniversaryrock.com

Holiday Rain -- Holiday Rain's Nightmare (Serendipity Doda): One band's nightmare may be a pop fan's dream. I have yet to even delve into the whole concept album aspect, as I'm trying to absorb the bevy of hooks - 28 tunes and a slew of terrific numbers. This is a mid-fi recording with enough murkiness to make it feel like an old radio transmission that bounced back with obscure tunes from unknown '60s popsters - The Beatles and The Hollies and The Bee Gees and The Who are amongst the dozens of classic reference points. This is what Guided By Voices might sound like if they stopped listening to records after 1966 or so. Not that this is some Rutles or Dukes Of Stratosphear parody fest - these are great tunes (and some great titles, like "March of the Giggle Bunnies" and "The Well Eyed Wonder Song") done in a fashion that could unite old school pop fanatics with young Elephant 6 worshipping whippersnappers. This is really a double album's worth of material, so you will spend about six months getting into this embarassment of riches. Serendipitydoda@excite.com; holidayrain@home.com

Club 8 -- Spring Came, Rain Fell (Hidden Agenda): Who'd ever think that a melodic soft pop band could come from Sweden? Everyone? Well, regardless, this is a quality disc from a duo (Karolina Komstedt -vocals, Johan Angergard - instruments and some vocals) who blend some lounge, some Angelo Badalamenti, some Cardigans, some trip hop, a wee bit of club tunes and some synth sounds (sometimes on par with Air) on this low key, Sunday morning perfect effort. While many of the songs are as inviting as puffy white clouds on the surface, as the title indicates, often something more disquieting lurks not far beneath. Angergard's writing and production is generally spare and simple, so the little bits of color (a guitar lead here, a synth swoosh there) linger memorably while Komstedt has the requisite '60s coo, with fine phrasing. The crowning achievement is "Teenage Life" - Angergard finds the right melody to support his lyrics that recognize the dichotomy of nostalgia for the teen years - all of our dreams are in front of us, but we're not capable yet of knowing how to (or if we can) turn them into fulfillment; we're often not longing to actually relive those times, fraught with awkwardness and pain, we just want to have our potential back. Parasol.com

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