There’s always going to be a need for a good, peppy indie rock band. It may be groups like TV on the Radio or Animal Collective who turn the heads of most critics, but after a steady diet of rock’s more unusual acts, curling up with a good, fuzzy pop band is like cocoa and Simpsons re-runs on a rainy day. The Saps are just such a band, equal parts Wilco, Pavement and They Might Be Giants, rocking their jangly major chords heavily and heartily, but with a light-hearted, carefree attitude. Twangy, but a bit too noisy to truly be alt-country, The Saps are nonetheless a noisy slice of Americana that’s as fun as it is familiar. “Hospital” rocks so hard, it makes the ICU sound like one hell of a good time, while the distorted bounce of “Dead Friends” is a joyously celebratory descent into boredom-induced madness. This is what all your favorite bands sounded like before they got too old to care.
-- Jeff Terich
