SINK TAPES "You ever been surprised before?" asks vocalist Gabe Chiarello, in his spoken intro to Sink Tapes' "The Soul is in the Kitchen." It's a ballsy challenge from alt-rockers who hone their sound from unsurprising elements - chugging Velvet Underground guitars (circa "We're Gonna Have a Real Good Time Together"), fuzzy dreamscapes via eccentric art rockers Lansing Dreiden, and Sonic Youth's distortion and chiming clangor. It's a recipe for the standard Sundance movie soundtrack, the alt-music bed under a montage depicting the entropy of a collapsing relationship. Against the odds, Sink Tapes' hazy, time-distorting tunes take hold. Propelled by pulsing, precise drums and distant vocals, these druggy songs enter that non-Euclidean space where melody and mood become entwined. With a feedback fog that's part Phil Spector, part My Bloody Valentine, it's all magnificently sloshy and aquatic. If this is crate-digger rock, at least it comes from a cool collection. Many indie rockers nod to Lou Reed and Mission of Burma, but how many cover '80s Danceteria faves Mode-IQ? Despite a few familiar ingredients, it's easy to get sucked into this recipe - and be surprised. With Lions to Lambs, The Orchidales. $5-$7. Jan. 5, 9 p.m. Milestone, 3400 Tuckaseegee Road. 704-398-0472.
ROOMRUNNER Taking its name from the Japanese word for "treadmill," Roomrunner resuscitates the sound of '90s grunge. Battered Fender guitars churning squalls of feedback are present, as are two- and three-chord riffs. The riff is everything here, and Roomrunner's grimy seismic wall of noise carries all before it. Not so much revivalists as resurrectionists, even Roomrunner's bio - drummer of a well-regarded but defunct punk crew straps on a guitar to start a new noise band - recalls the arc from Nirvana to Foo Fighters. Roomrunner's archival sound is the problem. Nirvana transcended grunge with pop-smart songwriting and reveled in '80s art-rock roots that included the angular structures of Wire and the loud/soft/loud dynamics of The Pixies. Cobain and company aside, the bulk of grunge was self-limiting, combining the slashing squall of Northwest punks The Wipers at half-speed with early-'70s Vanilla Fudge-styled sludge, minus the luridly engaging psychedelia. Roomrunner goes off the grunge script a bit with funky time signatures and life-affirming lyrics, but the sound of Sea-Tac-without-the-smack is not enough. Grunge ground to a halt because it had nowhere to go, and Roomrunner doesn't bring enough to the ear-bleeding party to take it out of its cul-de-sac. With Yardwork, Speedy Ortiz, Serfs. $5. Jan. 4, 10 p.m. Snug Harbor, 1228 Gordon St. 704-333-9799.
PostedByCorbie Hill
on Fri, Jan 4, 2013 at 8:41 AM
PULLMAN STRIKE, THE SAMMIES, MOTEL GLORY You'll mosh. You'll cry. You may even try on a pair of Carhartts, as there's as much mournful rural twang as urban grit and gristle to Charlotte country-rockers Pullman Strike. The band's strongest qualities - galloping Northeastern punk energy and plaintive storytelling - balance against each other nicely, resulting in an engaging, down-to-earth crossover approach. The Sammies, on the other hand, offer an energized, indie-rock hybrid that looks less to the dive or the backwoods, and more to the arena: the songs of this Charlotte band are massive, infectious stompers. And Rock Hill's Motel Glory leads an occasionally jittery, sugar-high charge straight into the country-punk camp. Yet all three bands know how to slow down and spin a sad musical tale of loss and regret - gotta respect that. $7. Jan. 4, 9 p.m. Tremont Music Hall, 400 W. Tremont Ave. 704-343-9494.
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