Peter Pupping Band, the Shake Ups, Lindsey Hail

Artist: The Peter Pupping Band

Song: “Sea Journey” (from the CD Sea Journey)

Heard By: Richard Gutierrez, Pomona, CA

It was basically a mix of styles. It was all instrumental with mostly a Latin feel. There was some Brazilian stuff in there, some African rhythms, but the main voice was the flamenco guitar. It’s basically based all around his guitar. The rhythm section was really supporting the flamenco-guitar voicings. It was groovy; it was danceable; it was upbeat. A lot of the songs on the album are covers that people already know, so it’s just a fun, light, and easy listen. It was not overly complicated; they kept it pretty simple, but they had nice melodies. I could imagine hearing that at a Latin-jazz festival; it’s nice on the ears. This album would be best accompanied by a nice glass of California chardonnay.

Artist: The Shake Ups

Song: “Can’t Stop the Signal” (from the CD Breathing the Flood)

Heard By: “Waffles,” Normal Heights

I thought it sounded like the B-52s mixed with Gravy Train but with a dude singing; it’s like they were trying to mix surf rock with girl-punk. It was like Blondie with the Creepy Creeps. It was all right, if you’re into that type of thing. It was pretty good. It’s not my style of music. I typically like Devo, Sublime — Sublime is my favorite band ever, actually. I could see that on the radio. My friend’s band is terrible, and they’re getting a lot of airplay around here. One of the lyrics was “coming to terms with my inner fool,” and I thought that was great. I can see them being good live. When I hear that, I picture a beach party with a bunch of B-52–looking chicks.

Artist: Lindsay Hail

Song: “Hibernate” (from the CD Into My Soul)

Heard By: Mollie Hodge, North Park

I think that it was very melodic, and I really liked it. I really hope they make it big because I was really into it; I felt their vibe. They kind of reminded me of Evanescence but in a very different way. At first they reminded me of them, but then as it got more into it, they reminded me more of a slower version of Siouxsie and the Banshees. I think they’re talented. I couldn’t really understand what she was singing half of the time, so I would read the lyrics. I imagine they would play the Radio Room or even Lestat’s or Kadan. It’s also really good music to just sit and chill to. If anyone’s ever feeling really down, I’d recommend listening to that.