A few parts charm and humor, several parts rock 'n roll, and one part slightly-awkward geekiness, frontman Ezra Furman seems to have a gift for solid "indie" music that pays homage to its rock 'n roll roots. While I wasn't always entirely sure whether Furman was genuinely that random and tired---"I'm tired from a lack of sleep. Yeah and from standing alot"--- or trying to be funny, it didn't detract from my or the rest of the substantial crowd's ability to bop along to the tunes at Submerged. I noted some almost 50's style pacing and rhythm and enjoyed that several of the tunes let bassist Job Mukkada carry the melody.
The entire sound was catchy, with Jorgen Jorgensen-Briggs's electric guitar solos flourishing without straying too far from the pace and focus of the rest of the band. Furman, possibly channeling an inner Bob Dylan (and I noted that before he even busted out the harmonica) framed most of the songs with some sort of comment, betraying what sounds on a cursory listen to be everyday indie rock as something a bit more personal and anecdotal: "This song isn't so much a complaint as a description." Well, that clears things up.
