Sheer Mag, Vanity, Bad Noids, Tapehead, Gowanus Mutant Kommandos

Sheer Mag's logo looks like the cover of an early hard rock record—all-caps font, jagged lettering. It seems appropriate, then, that at the outset of their 7" opener "What You Want", there's a guitar line with the same approximate structure as the central portion of Kiss' "Strutter". It's a fleeting-but-important moment—within the first few seconds of impact, they emphasize the "power" half of power pop. They bust out guitar solos that fly high. Their singer spits out words like, "What you want? What do you want me to do?," seemingly delivered more out of frustration than desperation. That tinge of anger—heard both in their vocals and their scuzzy junkyard guitar sound—is the perfect complement to "What You Want"'s swooning, power chord-driven melody. It's that ideal balance between sweet and sour. The track, one of four very good ones on their new 7", is an exciting introduction to this Philadelphia band.





Sick new Rochester punk, ex-Brown Sugar, Rational Animals.