Sabado Domingo - "The First Day Of Our Reinvention" cd  (Bumblebear)
Sabado Domingo is Dan Skinner. He played and sang almost everything on this record, with the exception of a few things here and there. Most of this record is acoustic-based, with the songs being mostly low-key, though more introverted than depressing. Now, I'm not one for acoustic singer/songwriter stuff, but "Keep From Moving", "Explosions" and the title track are all quite nice. There are a few moments, though, when the record seems to drag a bit. Not all of the record is acoustic, though - the second song, "Trouble", is a noisy fuzzed-out rave-up, that sounds a lot like the good Neutral Milk Hotel song (no, the other one; "Song Against Sex"). "Hook, Sinker and Line" is also a fun 60s pop type tune with a full band sound. I just wish there were more stuff on the record like these songs, as they're easily my favorites...   MTQ=8/11

Sad Like Crazy - "Love Songs To Death" cd  (Ojet)
Listening to this cd is a bit overwhelming, as it's almost 73 minutes long with 22 songs that don't sound different enough to make this interesting. I mean, I think the band is pretty good, but they really could've trimmed a few songs off of here, and had a much better overall album. The first song, a boring noisy indie-rock song didn't set the pace too well, but the next song, "Lynette" - a kind of Lois-ish tune, made me want to hear more of the record. With most of the members of the band each writing songs, there is a bit of variation sometimes, but musical points of reference would include Spent, Butterglory, early Kincaid, and Glossary. I was doing something else while listening to the record for the first time, and there were times I didn't even notice it was on, though it did catch my attention a few times, with tunes like "Sweet To Me", "Suitcase", "Shake The Elders", and their cover of the Replacements "Can't Hardly Wait". For the most part, though, their slow songs (and there are more than a few) are generally dull. On the plus side, this record is ideal for playing video games to, or any activity where you don't want to get up to change the cd for a long time.   MTQ=15/22

Safe Home - "Travel In Time" cdep  (Sunday)
Two members of this trio were the core of the Nightblooms many years ago. Now they've renounced their louder past, in favor of quiet folky pop, with soft acoustic & electric guitars with the occasional violin or soft drums. At times, especially with the vocal harmonies in "Dear Dusty", they remind me a lot of the last Adventures In Stereo cd. For some reason, the guitar melody to "Three Steps Closer" sounds really familiar, but I don't know why. This disc is nice, but not too attention-grabbing.   MTQ=3/4

The Safes - "Well Well Well" cd  (O'Brothers)
Composed of a trio of brothers named O'Malley (which makes their label moniker make a lot more sense), this band has been playing around Chicago for a few years now. This is their third release (after a full-length and an EP which I now need to find), and it's a great half hour blast of powerpop! Best described as a cross between You Am I and a harder-edged Kinks, the ten songs on this disc are packed with energy and harmonies (everyone sings!), with some really catchy songs like "Phone Book Full Of Phonies", "Fairy Tale Tomorrow" and "Cool Sounds Are Here Again". Once in a while, though, the band calms down for songs like "Bottoms Up" and "Bliss This Instance", the latter of which uses rhodes and all sorts of extra instruments (like tuba and trombone) to create a different kind of fun atmosphere. But really, the whole album is lots of fun!   MTQ=9/10

The Salteens - "Short-Term Memories" cd  (Endearing)
Debut cd from this Vancouver trio, and it's definitely a lot of fun! Ten songs in 25 minutes, with most of them averaging about 2½ minutes. And they're all full of boy/girl vocals, lots of ba ba ba's, and some trumpet, too! This is great rockin' indiepop in the vein of Incredible Force Of Junior, Wolfie, and maybe Tullycraft. Occasionally, I can hear some other things come through, too, like the beginning of "Kelly Nicoll", which sounds just like Papas Fritas' "Sing About Me"; and the trumpet line in "Caught At The Cusp" really reminds me of the Fastbacks' rendition of "Sign Of The Times". This cd is always over before you know it - where's that repeat button...   MTQ=10/10

The Salteens - "Tomorrow" 7"  (Drive-In)
Ah, the Salteens have been an IndiePages favorite ever since their fun debut cd last year, and this single is no different. Two perfect power poppy songs, both around 2¼ minutes long. These kids really deserve to be huge stars! The A-side is a wild song with lots of harmonies and energy, and the flip is a cover of Guided By Voices' "Motor Away", a perfect match. The only thing that could possibly have made this single any better would be if it were on pink vinyl!   MTQ=2/2

The Salteens - "Let Go Of Your Bad Days" cd  (Drive-In)
Ever since I first heard their debut album, "Short Term Memories", a few years ago, the Salteens have been one of my favorite bands. With their incredibly catchy and exciting songs, and super-fun live show, it's hard not to love them! This, at long last, is their follow-up album (not counting the impossible-to-find Australian tour ep released in the interim), and it's just as good as I could hope for! They're still catchy and exciting, but there's something different about them that I can't quite put my finger on - the sound is a little more mature (for lack of a better word). There are still plenty of ba-ba-ba's and jaunty trumpets, but there are also string arrangements, as heard in the album's opening title track. There's also more keyboards on this record than the first one, which makes sense now that they have a full-time keyboard player. The Salteens have always seemed to have an ever-changing lineup; for example, Megan is no longer with the band, though she sang and played on this album before her departure. This record is fairly different from their debut album, but it still sounds very much like the same band, so I think this is a great example of a band that has successfully evolved, rather than trying to recreate the same record all over again...   MTQ=10/10

Santa Monica Swim & Dive Club - "Mild Honey" cd  (Little Pocket)
This is a pleasant and unassuming little EP from two big names in indiepop. Fred Thomas should need no introduction, after the years he's given us with the mighty Saturday Looks Good To Me, but Tim Sendra is likely an unknown to the younger popkids; he was the man behind Veronica Lake (not exactly a household name, but well-loved by the fans they had) and a key figure in Madison Electric (who barely released more than a single, though that single happens to be one of my all-time favorites!). These songs are a bit poppier than either member's previous projects, sounding more in line with the Smittens or Oval-Teen, though there are definitely frequent nods to 60s bubblegum throughout, as well as an acoustic homage to T. Rex in "Kara Keely" and some Go-Betweens lyrical references in "I Hit The Board". Seven tracks of sunny pop, as seen through the eyes of a pair of Michiganders.   MTQ=6/7

Sarah Sarah - "Sing Till It Hurts" cdep  (Popboomerang)
My favorite Aussie pop mailorder now has a label, and their first release is, not surprisingly, a winner! These five guys and girls from Melbourne play the bounciest, catchiest pop songs I've heard since the Salteens. You've seriously never heard a bunch as upbeat and chirpy as these folks! Sugary-sweet melodies, silly lyrics, and fun keyboards abound on these five songs, and everyone sings. Sometimes it gets a little much (like when they bust into the chorus of "Neverending Story" in the middle of "Song From An 80s Movie"), but they do mean well...   MTQ=5/5

Sarandon - "The Miniest Album" 7"  (Banazan/Runout)
Seven songs in about ten minutes on this 7" - the miniest album, indeed! This trio hails from England, and plays the most spastic pop I've heard in a while. With their trebly guitars and jerky sound, they remind me a lot of Gang Of Four and early Wire crossed with the Minutemen; and sound like they could've been found on one of those Messthetics comps, unearthed from the early 80s. As you could guess, all of the songs are under two minutes long (with the average skewed by the thirty second instrumental "Janet & Susan" which closes the EP), and they're bursting with energy. Some of them are pretty melodic, too, which isn't an easy feat with this type of music. I'd certainly be interested to hear more like this...   MTQ=6/7

Sarandon - "The Big Flame" 7"  (Banazan)
This is the second 7" EP from this UK trio, and like the first one, it's packed with short, spastic pop tunes in the vein of the Minutemen, Wire and like the title suggests, Big Flame as well. The guitars are trebly and jittery, but the bass and vocals frequently carry the melody in songs like "Little Cake" and the Milky Wimpshake-ish "Politique". Perfect for folks with a short attention span (like myself), these songs are even shorter than the last time around: 7½ minutes total, with the longest tune lasting 81 seconds! And like the last EP's "Janet & Susan", they close off the set with a brief instrumental called "Joe & James. I kind of hope they keep releasing their songs as EPs, because I'd hate to see their songs get longer to accommodate a full album...   MTQ=6/7

Sarandon - "The Completist's Library" cd  (Happy Happy Birthday To Me)
No, this isn't actually the band's debut album, but really a collection of their four 7"s, but seeing as I never found the third single (and didn't know the fourth one even existed!), half of this record is new to me anyways. It is amusing to see, though, that the band not only kept the pattern on all four singles consistent (seven songs each, with a brief and catchy instrumental at the end), but they added an element to the pattern of a bonus "version" at the end of each EP (although they didn't really add anything). Musically, the latter singles are just like the former: jerky and trebly tunes that sound like a mix of the Minutemen and Big Flame, with a touch of early Wire (although I still say that "Politique" sounds just like Milky Wimpshake), and of course never exceed two minutes in length. However, you can actually hear the songwriting progressing a bit throughout the singles; songs like "Prove It" and "Angela" (with guest vocals by Phil Wilson) from the last two EPs would've sounded out of place on the first one. Each EP is as good as the one before it, and they all sound great together!   MTQ=27/32

Sarandon - "Joe's Record" 7"  (Slumberland)
Sarandon followed a pattern for their first four 7"s (which were later compiled on "The Completist's Library"), which consisted of seven bursts of spastic trebly pop, a la Big Flame, Wire and the Minutemen, with songs ranging in length from short to very short. For their fifth single, though, they show that they can also excel at writing songs longer than 75 seconds, with the nearly three-minute long "Through With Humour" on the b-side being one of my favorites of theirs to date (check out that great organ sound!). But despite the break from tradition, the band still have the same sound, and the same clever and humorous lyrics, as well!   MTQ=3/3

Sarandon - "Kill Twee Pop!" cd  (Slumberland)
Like the "Joe's Record" single before it (the A-side of which appears here), this record shows the band breaking their self-imposed mold of keeping songs short and even branching out their sound a bit - and doing a damn fine job with both. The songs are a touch longer (though mostly remaining in the two minute range, with only one barely passing the three minute mark), but the Minutemen, Big Flame and Gang Of Four influences are still readily apparent. In fact, like the Minutemen's later work, there's a fair amount of melody visible amongst the dissonance, skronky jangle and spastic rhythms. There are even moments of poignancy in the lyrics that I didn't notice before. I was a bit wary of the band's leap from EP to LP and how it would affect their songs, but they made the transition perfectly with this most impressive debut album!   MTQ=11/12

Sarge - "Distant" cd  (Mud)
Brand new disc from these kids, and sorry to say, but it's their last. After years, Sarge have called it quits. However, this 14-song album contains 3 new songs, 6 live tracks, 3 covers (including their version of "Time After Time" from the Stall 7"), and 2 solo Elizabeth tracks "to finish the cd". Most of these tracks weren't ever meant to be released, but that would've been a shame. This is mainly intended to be a scrapbook, complete with lots of photos & a little history, but it still makes a very good release. The live tracks have excellent sound quality, too.   MTQ=11/14

Saturday Looks Good To Me - "All Your Summer Songs" cd  (Polyvinyl)
The first thing I thought of this record when I first listened to it was that the band reminded me quite a bit of the Aislers Set, but with a somehow more genuinely 60s sound. Listen to songs such as "Meet Me By The Water", "Alcohol", and "Caught" (heck, almost the entire record!), and you'll definitely hear a big Aislers Set influence, if not similarity. But somehow these guys manage to sound more dated (and I mean that in a good way) - you can hear it in the drums (and percussion - those bells in "Ambulance"!), guitar sound, and the buckets of reverb everything is dipped in. The production on this record is just incredible. It also helps that the songs are amazing, both in the writing and the playing. Whether upbeat and super poppy or slow and melancholic, this record never loses interest. Occasionally, it'll even leave you wanting more, like on the untitled opening track - that Smiths-esque guitar line could've gone on forever (teasingly, the band reprises it for 15 seconds at the end of "No Good With Secrets")! It kinda goes without saying that this record will certainly be on my (and many, many others') top ten lists this year! Also, the vinyl lp (I reviewed the cd version, as it was easier) contains TWO extra exclusive tracks ("Light Bulb Heart" and "I Can't Ever Sleep"), which are both of the same top quality as the other thirteen...   MTQ=13/13

Saturday Looks Good To Me / Speedmarket Avenue - "split" 7"  (Fickle Fame)
Here's a fine split single to commemorate Saturday Looks Good To Me's visit to Sweden, backed with a new song from Speedmarket Avenue of Sweden. "Parking Lot Blues" is SLGTM's contribution, and it's a fun tune with quite a bit of energy. It's a shame the band used a song that's been previously released, but as it was just on a limited sampler on Suburban Sprawl Records, I'll let it slide. On the flip, Speedmarket Avenue give us "The State Of Harmony", which is a fairly low key tune similar to the style of their recent album on this very label. A fine single!   MTQ=2/2

Saturday Looks Good To Me - "Sound On Sound" cd  (Redder)
There are many bands that release an album and you think it's too much. Then there are bands like Saturday Looks Good To Me, that releases a couple albums' worth of material every year and it's just not enough! More than likely, you already know enough about this band and are already either in love with them (like I am) or couldn't care less about 'em. If you're in the first camp and don't already have this record, then you should be rushing to the store now to buy it, while folks in the latter won't exactly find this to be a good starting place. This disc collects thirty songs culled from the band's singles (both tour-only and official releases), as well as extra comp tracks and more. Just because these are b-sides and extras doesn't make them throwaways, but this disc doesn't really play well as a standalone album - it's definitely more for folks to fill in their gaps than anything else, but I don't hold that against the band; in fact, I commend them for it. I've been following them avidly since the second I heard "All Your Summer Songs" (and I bought the vinyl version, since it had two bonus tracks, both of which are included here), and thought I had pretty much all of their releases (not counting the first couple self-released cdrs, which are impossible to find!) - so I was quite surprised to find that about half of these songs were new to me! In addition to old favorites like "Diary", "Parking Lot Blues" and their cover of the Ramones' "Listen To My Heart", I was introduced to many wonderful new songs, like "One Hundred People", "This Time Every Year" and "Last Year". Yay!   MTQ=27/30

Saturday Looks Good To Me - "Money In The Afterlife" 7"  (Ernest Jenning)
It's funny, but I really can't think of too many bands around these days that are releasing consistently good standalone 7" singles like SLGTM. I mean, it used to be such a common occurrence for bands to release singles in between albums just to get a few new songs out there, but in the digital age, it seem that the only 7"s being released anymore are splits/comps or novelty items meant to promote hot new records (though the latter is mostly a British ploy). Of course, there are exceptions, and SLGTM are one of the best examples of this. These songs are unavailable anywhere else, and are both fine tunes, although they don't really sound like anything else the band has done before. The A-side has sort of a Fleetwood Mac feel to it, while the flip sounds almost like an angrier Television Personalities. One or both of these may end up on the band's next album (which should be an interesting one, indeed), but for now, enjoy them as they're meant to be enjoyed!   MTQ=2/2

The Saturday People - "Twilight Story" 7"  (Brittle Stars)
Okay, can I just say that I am in awe? Anyone who knows me knows what a sucker I am for that c86 sound, and this has it!! The title track is like the pure beauty of (early) Primal Scream mixed with the energy of (early) Pooh Sticks, and a bit of the Sea Urchins thrown in for good measure. This really is anything and everything good about indiepop. The b-side slows it down a bit, and can be likened to the Waves or maybe the What Gives. These guys really need to put out a full-length, like right now. I'm going to hold my breath until I get it.   MTQ=2/2

The Saturday People - "Slipping Through Your Fingertips" 7"  (Slumberland)
Second single from this new wonderful jangly indiepop group. Again, the A-side is an instant classic in the vein of St. Christopher, the Pastels, Postcard Records, etc. The b-side is a bit slower, and like, say, the Servants or the Weather Prophets. The cover is one of those non- cover covers, where you can't tell the front from the back, and those always bother me. So have these guys put out a full length yet? I'm still waiting...   MTQ=2/2

The Saturday People / Clientele - "split" 7"  (Slumberland)
A song each from these two excellent bands. The Saturday People track is "Grace", a song from their forthcoming (and highly anticipated) debut album due out soon. The song isn't as upbeat like their others, but it's a slower song in the vein of the Weather Prophets or the Loft. On the flip is "Porcelain", a new song from the Clientele, which doesn't sound too different from their other recent material. The sleeve is the stock Slumberland sleeve they've been using lately. Two brilliant songs from two great bands that need no introduction...   MTQ=2/2

The Saturday People - "s/t" cd  (Slumberland)
Really, how could this not be perfect? This band released 2½ amazing singles, all of which are included on this cd, though some are re-recorded (the additional piano in "California Girls" totally changes the feel of the song). And I've been waiting for this cd's release ever since I heard their first single. This is perfect pop in the vein of early Creation bands like Biff Bang Pow!, the Weather Prophets, Primal Scream, the Loft... this band is totally up there with all of them. This is probably the best thing to happen in American jangle pop since the Springfields/Choo Choo Train. Sometimes elegant, like on "Grace" or "Ghost Of A Chance"; sometimes totally shambolic, like on "Slipping Through Your Fingertips" or the opener "No Matter Where You Are"; always wonderful. I thought "Upside-Down Girl" was kinda funny, though - the way it starts out with the guitar strum, and the words "It's been a hard...", makes it sounds a bit familiar... And "Twilight Story" is still a brilliant song that forces me to dance around foolishly! This is an instant classic!   MTQ=15/15

The Saturday People - "s/t" cdep  (Foxy Boy)
I really hate to give good bands a bad review, but this is one of those rare exceptions... Okay, I'm not sure what this is supposed to be, but whatever it is, it's a mess! For example, it's listed as a 7-track EP, though there are clearly 8 songs on the label; but when you put it in the player, there are 14 tracks! See what I mean? The score is this: three typically great songs (the St. Christopher-ish "Conditional Tense (Now It's Gone)", the Steinbecks-ish "Sun Never Sets" and the bossanova "No Photos Exist", with vocal help from Pam Berry); two kinda mediocre songs ("Preamble" and "When You Come Around"); two remixes of older songs ("Man Without Qualities Pt. 1" & "Upside-Down Girl", the latter of which is injected with a few super-distorted guitars) which are fun, but not essential; and seven very short pieces of filler (mostly unmixed bits of songs), which range from useless to frustratingly annoying (see "The Saturday People" and its accompanying "remix"). All of this takes place in about 23½ minutes. Judging from the band's history, it's probable that some (if not all) of the good songs will appear on their next album, which would make this cdep pretty unessential. If this was the first time I heard the band, I would be a little turned off by this release - apart from the standout tracks, obviously...   MTQ=6/14

Scarboro Aquarium Club - "Black Swan Days" cd  (Becalmed)
I haven't heard this band's first album on Le Grand Magistery before, but listening to this second album, I can see how that was a perfect fit. This isn't actually a band (as the pictures on the sleeve might suggest), but rather the project of a British fellow named Corey Schmidt. There's quite a wide variety of styles on this record, but it all seems to tie together fairly well from the baroque pop of Cardinal (in songs like "Blind Like The Sun" and "Leave This Town") to a more synthy, Human League-esque sound (particularly in the title track) to the style of upbeat pop in "Flash Like Diamonds" and "That's Just You" that you might expect from a band like Camera Obscura - with even more styles in between. Imagine Stephin Merritt recording for El Records, and you'd be pretty close. A couple times it doesn't quite work (like the opening "I Catch Fire" and the instrumental "(Magic Hour At The) Equinox"), but there are a good number of fine hits on here, with my favorites including "Black Swan Days", "Flash Like Diamonds" and the two-part "All Her Careful Plans".   MTQ=9/12