ARTIST: Her Next Friend

ALBUM: Disaster Casual

LABEL: Antipoison Records

REVIEWER: Matthew J.

DATE: 9-2-09

Best known for their bleak, folk-infused cover of The White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army," Virginia's Her Next Friend are back with an eight-song CD that's a little uneven in focus but makes up for it with sheer variety alone. Incorporating a little of everything from folk and Americana to psychedelic and pop, this release starts off with "Don't Answer the Phone," a fairly straightforward classic rock song that stands out mainly due to lead singer John Burton's deadpan vocals. A baritone that sounds a bit like a young Nick Cave, Burton has a laid back delivery that makes up for occasional missed keys with a sense of disaffected cool that works particularly well on "One to Avoid," which mixes a stony mellowness with tripped out electric harpsichord that recalls The Doors, who also influence the bouncing organs of wonderfully bleak garage rock tune "A Shadow Beside Her." This album does have occasional stony tendencies, most notably on "Goodbye to All That," which brings in a hint of psychedelic pop a la The Moody Blues, and "Girls at the Zoo," a sunny southern rock number with jaunty guitar and piano hooks, but it's only "Don't Get Real on Me, Man" that goes deep enough into hippie territory to be distracting. Her Next Friend are hardly groundbreaking, but they're a competent rock band that combine an ear for catchy hooks with stripped down, garage-inspired production values that keep things appealingly raw.

Check out Her Next Friend at www.hernextfriend.com.