CD REVIEWS

The Sights
Got What We Want
(Fall Of Rome)

From fierce guitar romps to playful harmonies, The Sights’ sophomore outing Got What We Want is pure adrenaline and energy.

Songs like “Everyone’s a Poet,” “It’d Be Nice (To Have You Around),” “Last Chance” and “One and Only” are laced with The Beatles’ harmonic sensibility and Buzzcocks’ aggressiveness.

Singer/guitarist Eddie Baranek croons like a modern-day McCartney.

Bassist Mark Leahey and drummer Dave Shettler accentuate swooping choruses that pull listeners into the song without letting go.

On “Got What I Want” and “Sick and Tired,” Leahey and Shettler pull back and let Baranek get down and dirty with gritty and hypnotizing guitar licks.

Baranek’s voice is stern and passionate, while Leahey and Shettler’s rhythmic one-two punch provides earth-shaking results.

Got What We Want’s strength lies in group’s blend of playful rock ‘n’ roll and explosive dynamics, which in turn sets the foundation for one of the more unique and catchy albums of the year.

Vue
Babies Are For Petting
(RCA)

The San Francisco-based rockers Vue recently released Babies Are For Petting, a five-song EP that mixes jingly guitar rock and blues soul power with a little bit of pyschedelia for good measure.

Vocalist/guitarist Rex Shelverton snarls with the angst of the late Joe Strummer, but not before channeling David Bowie’s brooding croon and moody swagger.

The key to the album’s success, however, is its diverse range of influential overtones, from old-school punk to the passion and intimacy of the blues.

“Look Out for Traffic,” “Hey Hey Not in Here” and the title track quiver and shake with the rockabilly swagger of the late ’50s and the post-punk exuberance
of the New Wave movement.

Babies Are For Petting comes roaring out of the gates (think The Hives) but quickly sputters and spins into pure late ’60s psychedelic blues (think The Doors and early Bowie). Weird yes, but you might like it.