Vegas’ The Cab showing promise

Sin City's next big thing and songs about blue-collar primates top this month's roundup of Vegas releases:

The Cab, "Whisper War" (Decaydance/Fueled By Ramen): The Cab's bright-eyed piano pop is so breathless, it's as if singer Alex DeLeon is doing the Jane Fonda workout in the vocal booth.

And upon first listen, it's just as easy to get winded by this band's hotly tipped major label debut, which hits stores today: The album is so busy, with songs pinballing all over the place amidst a forest-thick arsenal of zig-zagging synth lines, acoustic guitar flourishes, some near-metal soloing, twinkling chimes, processed, puppy dog vocals and layered harmonies gooier than melted chocolate.

Because the band is on a label helmed by one of the Fall Out Boy dudes, The Cab probably will get lumped in on the fringes of the Warped Tour set, but really, this bunch owes much more to slick, R&B-inflected popsters like Justin Timberlake and Usher than anyone like Green Day.

At times, they sound like a fresh-faced Maroon 5 with nimble, light on their feet funk workouts such as "Bounce" and "High Hopes and Velvet Ropes." At others, they come with jittery, solar-powered pop sunny enough to leave you slathering on the SPF 50.

"You need to settle down," DeLeon announces on "Risky Business," and when he learns how to take his own advice, this young band could go from promising to platinum.

Action Cat, "Reginald and the Visitor" (myspace.com/actioncatmusic): With cutesy cartoons decorating the album sleeve and a running narrative involving a monkey with a crappy job who meets a lovable yellow alien, these Cats' pastoral pop is so precious, you just want to pinch its cheeks and tuck it into bed already.

But amidst the twinkling keys, purring melodica and singer Isaac Fits' pliant coo, there's a touch of melancholy, a hint of desperation that floats through this too brief, five-songs-in-under-14-minutes EP, which is best viewed as one continuous song cycle, such as Sleep's "Jerusalem" with cotton candy in place of all that chest hair.

As the story line unfolds, ultimately, the day is saved by the beauty of a sunset, a fitting end to an album that aims to be every bit as sublime.

Greg Medoro, "14 Sunset Way" (Odds On Records): Greg Medoro sounds like a man who has a pinata in place of a heart.

With his soft-scrubbed voice backed by smoldering sax and soulful, Motown-style backing vocals, Medoro makes the kind of wistful soft rock where the passions rage like a house fire.

Sure, Medoro's emotiveness can make Air Supply seem like Decrepit Birth at times, but to those haunted by the ghosts of lovers past, this disc is a welcome exorcism.

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