Good Times Crisis Band Select A Gather Point CD

It's a bit odd that Austin trio the Good Times Crisis Band are on the forbiddingly experimental label Australian Cattle God, because they're at heart a fairly basic new wave revival act. Select a Gather Point is chock-full of jittery-jangly guitars, melodic basslines in the post-Joy Division tradition, and prominent hyperactive drums, with guitarist Bill Corsello's vocals usually buried fairly deep in the mix. Listening to a song like "Chautauqua," the first thing that comes to mind is that this bracing blend of an urgent rhythm section and a guitarist who favors his high end must be what R.E.M. sounded like in their very earliest days, when making the Pylon-worshiping college kids of Athens dance was the highest priority. But eventually, the listener notices that all 13 songs follow the same basic template, which dampens the pleasure of tunes like "Lows and Highs" a bit. There's a potentially very good band here, but some tweaking of the Good Times Crisis Band's sound would add a lot more variety and enjoyment to the proceedings. ~ Stewart Mason

Good Times Crisis Band: Bill Corsello (vocals, guitar); Steven Mullins (vocals, bass instrument); David Hobizal (vocals, drums).