A look at local discs -- and more. . . .

Junior League
Oh Dear
www.juniorleagueband.com
Impressive first effort from DC’s own Junior League. This band’s sound is not your usual deal. It’s more country, but not country. More twangy, but not twangy, if you catch my drift. Lissy Rosemont’s charming voice carries most of these tracks, but the band is very capable all around. The mandolin and fiddle playing is well done and WONDERFUL additions. The album starts off with the funky “Charm”, followed by two of the band’s best and most popular tunes, the rollicking “Brother” and the sweet “Darling Too,” and is solid throughout. Catch Junior League June 15 at the Black Cat. — RF

Lejeune
For Club and Country
www.lejeunemusic.com
A few years back indie became the hippest musical and fashion trend, and many bands and friends have since been lost into the world of those who are trying just a little too hard. Lejeune’s latest record, “For Club and Country,” is a wonderful collection of echoes from the bands that inspired the new-wave revivalism, most noticeably REM’s influence, and their assimilation with a secure, unique sound. While the sound of this band falls within the sprawling indie genre, Lejeune’s confident displays separate them easily from those who are merely well dressed and in possession of a Smith’s record or two. — LGLP

Paul Benshoof
Still I Sing
www.myspace.com/paulbenshoof
Really awkward echoes on certain lyrics are meant to “highlight” or “punctuate” the words, but they’re lip-bite inducing. He sounds like a slightly retarded Barney the Dinosaur trying to sing like the dudes in They Might Be Giants. The chorus of the title track, “Still I Sing,” names all of these horrible events and how after they take place, Paul will still be singing. What about the apocalypse, Paul? Should I start hoping for it now? I want my mommy. — RA


City-State
Monument
www.city-state.net
Powerfully starting off with “Great Lakes,” a song strengthened by its guest string musicians, “Monument,” the follow up to the 2006 release “Wolves + 4,” establishes itself by bringing to mind the haunting emptiness explored by bands such as Cities and Interpol. This element of City-State’s songwriting is explored throughout the record and also is well captured on the two remixes that close out “Monument,” but these moments of shadow are not suffocating. Songs such as “Arlanda Terminal,” a tribute to Stockholm’s international airport, explore warmer landscapes, and there’s a hopeful aspect throughout the harrowing compositions by this local band. Catch them at the Galaxy Hut on June 16. — LGLP

The Daybreak Line
The Daybreak Line
www.thedaybreakline.com
Arlington locals The Daybreak Line are a talented group, their only major flaw being predictability and a lack of originality. There’s very little wrong with the EP, the songs are structurally sound and well played, but The Daybreak Line sound a bit too much like everyone else, even with their forays into the world of electronic instrumentation. There’s a very unthreatening element to this effort, such as the background music from an episode of Dawson’s Creek, and it makes it difficult to appreciate this record as anything more than a carefully assembled collection of late ‘90s radio influences. Playing June 8 and 9 at Celebrate Fairfax. — LGLP

Joan As Police Woman
Real Life
www.joanaspolicewoman.com
This is toasty. Some songs make me want to bone, others make me want to dance barefoot in some sweat-soaked basement, and others make me want to weep. Her honey-coated voice moves slowly, like a sexy girl lazing in her underwear on her humid day off. Jazzy, whole-heartedly painful and Nina Simone-infused, “Real Life” hits whatever you’re feeling with a correctly aimed bullet. Plus, she’s a hot piece. Bonus! — RA



The Love
Songs for the Record
www.myspace.com/theloveinspace
Jessie and Jamie both play guitar and piano and sing. They know how to harmonize. Their style’s slightly Neko Case and slightly Dixie Chicks, so it mixes the middle ground from both influences. But come on, they’re called The Love, their promo shots feature the two girls lying about in sundresses on the grass. Sure, I stare up at the sky from time to time, but not on my back and certainly not long enough to get through this album. Harmless but pointless. — RA


Morningbell
Through the Belly of the Sea—A Choose Your Own Adventure Album
www.morningbellonline.com
Oh no. If your music isn’t good enough to get by on just LISTENING to it, and you have to make some complicated game out of putting your album in the stereo, give up. Morningbell’s “Choose Your Own Adventure” idea involves reading the lyrics and picking what song to listen to next based on what kind of mood you’re in. Example: “Do you fall asleep here in the coral reef? Go to Chapter 6” or “Do you push on to the sunken ship? Go to Chapter 10” await you at the end of track 3. Guys, you forgot “Do you immediately rally for this CD’s candidacy as a coaster? Press eject.” Oh, and the music’s mediocre pop-rock. On songs that include “the center of the earth” or “heaven,” there’s an ambient spin. Morningbell plays at the Galaxy Hut on June 10. — RA

Motel
Lost and Found
www.welcometomotel.com
Motel inventively melds hip-hop and jazz music in this “project” type of album. The cover art awesomely looks like a comic book and reminds me of “American Splendor.” The rap references will pierce your D.C. soul just right ... especially when you’re remembering all the crazy times you had on New York Avenue at 2 a.m. Though the rap can be cheesy and seem inappropriate over such nice, soothing cool-cat beats, it’s all right. I mean, they’re doing something different, and as lame as a reason that is to like something, it has to work here. — RA

Pentamental
Harm and Harmony
www.myspace.com/pentamental
The cover has a watercolored photo of an open eye on it. The guitars do nothing but repeat the same beat pattern and the vocals that the lines swallow are throat-pinched and depressing. “Harm and Harmony” tries to pull a Rammstein with the vocals and obvious intent to spur dancing as well as headbanging. But guys, you’re from California, and you titled one of your songs “Worm Hole.” Try a new approach.  — RA

Private Eleanor
Sweethearting
www.privateeleanor.com
Baltimore’s Private Eleanor evoke the confident, mature sound of artists such as Red House Painters and the late Elliot Smith on their fourth full length album “Sweethearting.” Having already been referred to as “hushed yet adamant whisper-folk-pop,” this newest record is an assured display of subtlety and craftsmanship; layers of male and female vocals, of soft organic keys, of veiled guitars, delicate bass and drums all folded perfectly together in the album’s production. “Sweethearting” is both warm and melancholy; a soundtrack for lost afternoons, warm summer evenings, and the early morning’s dew. — LGLP

Red Racer
Wake Up, Wake Up
www.redracerband.com
Red Racer compiles a sequence of catchy indie pop songs on “Wake Up, Wake Up,” reminiscent of the Britpop bands of the early ’90s and the more melodic, instrument focused tracks of the ’80s. While there are definite tones of Oasis’ influence on the band, I hear a lot of early Feeder in these competently composed and well-arranged songs. While the band would have benefited from better production, in a way the production on this EP fittingly captures the exuberant youthful energy infused throughout songs such as “Fighter Jets” and “The Biz.” A very solid, entertaining record from D.C. locals. — LGLP

Heather Renee
Pretty Prison
www.heather-renee.com
Heather Renee’s unique approach to music is a welcome variation to the often stale, repetitious world of singer-songwriters, though it also can become slightly overwhelming, as on “Mephistopheles.” As an extremely competent musician, there is not much ill to be said of her compositions, but as an artist she soars when her voice is challenged only by one or two other instruments. The fuller compositions are crowded with competing foci, detracting from the songs as wholes by trying to do too much with certain facets. She’s at her best on “Pretty Prison” when her quirks are approached with confidence and simplicity, as on opener “Drifting.” — LGLP

The Roosevelt
EP
www.theroosevelt.net
Impressed with this short but solid effort by fast up-and-coming locals The Roosevelt. Five tracks here, all worthy, melodic and accessible. The musicianship of this foursome is tight. All songs are written by Jon Mosher, and “Codeine Cure” is a highlight, the most radio-friendly of this radio-friendly bunch. Catchy is a word that has been used in describing The Roosevelt. Catchy is good. These are songs you actually won’t mind to have swimming around in your head. Be sure to catch them at DC9 on June 23. — RF

The Tossers
Agony
www.thetossers.com
The Tossers successfully tricked me! Their album title is a skeletal and ghostly tree trunk screaming in pain. I put it in the stereo, and it’s harmless Irish punk. My bad! But how does one even critique fiddle-infused pub rock? Every other word is either “whiskey,” “booze” or “mornin’.” The guys that listen to this outside of the bar should probably form a colony and live separate from the rest of humanity. Just a suggestion. — RA

The Woggles
Rock and Roll Backlash
thewoggles.com
Reeking of spilled drink, smeared in the ashes of carelessly held cigarettes, and sounding like a wonderful mix of the Stooges, early Stones, and the New York Dolls, the Woggles are a welcome echo from the lost decades of powerful and inspiring rock. “Rock and Roll Backlash” is a skillful set of 12 rock songs exploring the usual themes, slipping occasionally into less articulate forms of expression and the use of strained metaphors, but, honestly, what great rock acts haven’t? A brilliant mix of nostalgia and that frantic, youthful energy that has yet to dissipate, even decades removed from its source.  — LGLP

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Asylum Street Spankers
Mommy Says No!
www.asylumstreetspankers
This fav raucous band has released a children’s album. No, really. It’s meant to appeal to both kids and adults who are kids at heart. Guess what? It works, and the result is a fun album.

Cristopolis
Think
www.cristopolis.com
Local Cristopolis holds a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from George Mason University and can rap in English, French and Spanish.

Curly & The Rocket
Electricshow
www.curlyandtherocket.com
Rocking, funky full-length effort from local electric power duo. Guaranteed to get your body moving and your feet tapping. Regular local gigs, check their Web site for details.