Pop, ska bands top local roundup

Nervy art pop and a ska band for people who hate ska bands top this month's roundup of Vegas releases.

PAN DE SAL, "The Revisits EP" (pandesalband.com): Pan de Sal's pop ephemera suggests that this trio is fond of soundtracking their daydreams: Their songs float by as a series of tuneful incongruities, from fractured IDM with reverberating beats to pastoral pop predicated upon a childlike whimsy to self-aware indie hip-hop.

As such, their tunes are ideal for remixing, primarily because they could go in any number of directions to begin with. The band's latest EP recasts selections from last year's "The Bread Is Rising EP" into an equally meditative and concussive pastiche of malleable beats and soft-hued melodies. The results range from spare, sing-songy lullabies that reference the trade deficit ("The Boom & The Bees (Minimal Mix)") to frantic, paranoid funk ("Talkin' Bout Willis Remix (Feat. Liam)").

It's a loose, lively journey through the highways and byways of experimental pop with the road map left in the glove box.

ONE PIN SHORT, "Waiting" (myspace.com/onepinshort): When it comes to ska, I tend to side with Propaghandi. "The ska revival isn't cool, you stupid f@#$s," they sing on the subtly titled "Ska Sucks." "The bands are only in it for the bucks, and if you don't believe me, you're a schmuck."

Still, One Pin Short manages to distinguish themselves by infusing all the ska trademarks -- peppy horns, Caribbean rhythms, the sunbaked vibe of a Corona beer commercial -- with a dual-guitar blitz that really adds some fire to this band's repertoire. From album opener "Meant To Be," where guitarists Anthony Jaber and Jesse Magana swap wrist-mangling Maiden-esque leads -- to the fluid, expressive soloing that opens "Wysterian Lilac," these two earn overtime pay here.

NEWSENSE, "Bittersweet" (newsense.tk): The debut from this young three-piece is like a snapshot of a kid in the midst of a sudden growth spurt: He may be a little gangly in places and not everything is proportioned correctly, but you can see how he'll grow into something much bigger and more formidable.

Such is the case with Newsense, a group of talented players still coming into their own as songwriters. The potential is evident: singer/multi-instrumentalist Marc Walther has one of those elastic voices that pivots from a keening whisper to a tremulous yowl from one breath to the next, and with their whirring, sci-fi synth lines and splashy hi-hat syncopations, the band occasionally brings to mind The Killers.

"Bittersweet" gets better as it progresses -- culminating in plaintive-ballad-cum-raw-throated rocker "Stand Together" -- and a few years from now, I'd bet you'll be able to say the same thing about this band's career.

Jason Bracelin's "Sounding Off" column appears on Tuesdays. Contact him at 702-383-0476 or e-mail him at jbracelin@ reviewjournal.com.