The Human Echo, Sonic Blanket; The Mercy Seat, The Mercy Seat; The Tim Version, Prohibition Starts Tomorrow
OK, OK, you got us — it´s just another way of saying we couldn´t narrow it down to ONE ¨best local CD.¨ But that´s a good thing, right? (Well, good for everyone but the winners, who´ll have to choose between working out an amicable plaque-custody schedule or owning a jagged third of the stupid thing. In the case of the latter, we´ll compensate by claiming that, whenever re-assembled, the complete award will grant all present band members temporary crime-fighting Super Rock Powers.) All three of these full-lengths stood out far enough from the crowd to merit mention here, and not just because they were so well written, played and produced, either. The Bay area acts represented also created compelling tuneage by ignoring local and national trends to pursue their own visions — intimately epic dream-pop, shadowy alt-noir, and alternately roaring and shitkicking punk rock, respectively.
