Dirty Bird

On third release Dirty Bird, San Francisco's Meices deliver great slabs of fuzzy guitar churning away against tight melodies, hoarsely delivered by Joe Reineke. Lead-and-most-memorable track "Wow" owes its debt to New York garage rock kings the Fleshtones, an ingratiating mix of brittle '50s tone, '60s fuzz, propulsive horns and clipped backbeat. The catchy "Harry" weds a squealing guitar riff to tunage evocative of early Cure circa "Boys Don't Cry." "Yeah" cranks the tension to a Nirvana frenzy while "Monday Mood" goes whole hog on wistful mood and string section. On the whole, Dirty Bird will appeal to those who enjoyed the Figgs' ragged, highly-recommended 1994 release Low-Fi at Society High.