Artist: Conceptus
Song: “Which Way” (from myspace.com/conceptus)
Heard by: Lorenzo Ochoa, North Park
It reminded me of the Mamas and the Papas. It seems influenced or inspired by them. It has a soft melody to it. The guitar kind of reminds me of Weezer. Overall, I felt relaxed. I liked the way the guitar overpowers the lyrics. The lyrics are mysterious and a little bit soothing. I think it does have commercial potential but only because of the guitar. It really stands out. The vocals were a little bit underplayed. I’d give that song a 7.5 out of 10.

Artist: Monkeys in Space
Song: “You, Me and the Devil Makes Three” (from In Wake of Recent Events)
Heard by: Ricky V., San Diego
It’s a good song. The way it starts off with the intro is good; it’s kind of mellow. The verses were kind of…meh. I think they emphasized the intro and chorus the most to get people’s attention. They’re kind of like Jimmy Eat World. Another band that comes to mind is Nickelback. They sound like “radio rock.” They definitely have some talent. The good thing about them is they’re not trying to be overbearing and make their music so musical that the average person can’t listen to it. How far would they go? I don’t know. I think they’d have to reinvent themselves if they’re going to go far. It’s way too typical.

Artist: City Limits
Song: “Waiting for the Punchline”
Heard by: Adam Araujo, Normal Heights
I don’t know exactly what sort of genre this falls under, but I really did enjoy the introduction. It was lean and mellow. It was really nice. As far as the overall dialogue, it seemed like it was aiming toward family. Being the holidays, it was interesting to hear that from a local band. There was more guitar than anything. There was some drumming in the background, but it was light. There was a male singing, and it was really light — it wasn’t aggressive by any means. I’m a little more into hardcore rock, so that wasn’t, per se, my personal preference of music. I’d give it a 6 out of 10.