May 17-23

LOCAL

B+

"California"

The Coyote Problem

Self-released

The second CD from San Diego County's the Coyote Problem finds the band presenting a likable, radio-friendly country-rock hybrid of the sort that the Eagles, Linda Ronstadt and Pure Prairie League popularized 30 years ago. But fellow '70s country-rockers Poco might be a better comparison, as the music found on the Coyote Problem's "California" is of a similarly mellow approach. (And lead singer Peter Bolland's voice is fairly similar to those of one-time Poco singers Rusty Young and Paul Cotton.)

The 16 songs were written by Bolland, who also plays guitar for the trio. There are some lovely melodies here and a few truly memorable hooks. What's most remarkable about this album, though, is how fully integrated the band's sound is. Yes, Bolland's slightly raspy vocals are a major component of the band's sound, but so is the casual, loping rhythm of drummer Danny Cress and the tightly woven interplay between Billy Fritz's bass and Bolland's guitar, as are the vocal harmonies of Bolland and Fritz. The band itself has a personality apart from that of its three members.

"Into the Mystery" is a good example of that personality. The song opens with a Mexican-tinged guitar opener before Bolland's attractive tenor singing voice takes the lead atop a gently rocking guitar-bass-drums backbeat. "She's Alone Again" is another gem: plush-pile vocal harmonies, gorgeous melodic theme, as is "I Still Believe."

The only drawback on this album is that almost all of the songs have the same relaxed, mellow feel. Listening to 16 songs performed in a subdued meter is a bit repetitive after a while. Even the relatively uptempo songs, like "Let's Get Drunk," "England" and "I Got Out," would be most other bands' ballads. The band simply never lets loose and rocks out -- and without some pure rock 'n' roll, how much of a country-rock hybrid is it?

The Coyote Problem plays Sunday at Dizzy's in San Diego; the CD is available from coyoteproblem.com.

-- Jim Trageser

Staff Writer

A "Double Happiness"

Truckee Brothers

Populuxe Records

Grounded in straight-ahead rock 'n' roll but exploring all kinds of neat nooks and crannies, San Diego's Truckee Brothers are certainly one of the more interesting bands playing today. Their continual willingness to try something new while always trying it with exceptional musicianship reminds a bit of Wilco or Widespread Panic; the Americana/roots groove at the base of everything wild they do calls to mind Uncle Tupelo and Son Volt.

They take in a broad stylistic range on their new album, "Double Happiness." From slow, folkish songs such as "I Am Nature" and "Bon Voyeurage" to the alternative psychedelia of "Purple Waves of Gain" (a song that also displays their fun sense of wordplay, which also comes through in their lyrics) and the straight-ahead hard rock of "Kiss My Komodo" and "Mega Watt," few bands can sound so equally at home and utterly confident in so many different rock styles.

"Planning for the 21st Century" shows off the advantage of having multiple singers with distinct voices. The interplay on the call and response lead vocals and then the merge into harmony are both well-designed and gorgeously executed.

With so many of these songs having seductive little melodic hooks that get stuck in your head, the combination of great playing and intriguing arrangements makes "Double Happiness" nearly impossible to get out of your CD player.

The Truckee Brothers play Friday at the Casbah in San Diego; until its full release July 24, "Double Happiness" is available only at truckeebrothers.com or at M-Theory Music in San Diego.

-- JT

A- "Rhythms From a Cosmic Sky"

Earthless

Tee Pee Records

Psychedelic music forged from power riffs and the heaviest of the blues, the music of San Diego's Earthless sounds as if early incarnations of the Allman Brothers, Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin got mixed up during a rehearsal session.

The trio's first CD is a full-length outing but has only three tracks. Of course, the first two songs are both about 21 minutes long, which leads to the band being lumped into the "jam band" crowd. But the music here, while definitely psychedelic, is also harder edged than what most jam bands play.

Guitarist Isaiah Mitchell brings a definite metal edge to his playing, and while drummer Mario Rubalcaba (Rocket From the Crypt) and bassist Mike Eginton show a broad versatility on this album -- roaming into punk, screamo and wholly uncharted rhythmic waters -- they always seem to come back to the heavy blues that originally underpinned the first generation of metal bands.

But even the most nonconforming of those early metal bands had all but abandoned the 20-minute jam by 1975 or so; this album is almost a reimagining of what might have happened if metal hadn't hungered for commercial success and radio airplay.

It's a fun, sometimes mesmerizing listen -- one that metalheads and guitar fans both are likely to dig.

Earthless plays tonight at the Casbah in San Diego.

-- JT

B+ "Wired"

David Vaughn

Self-released

In a day of sanitized entertainment, when Britney Spears and Paris Hilton are somehow considered "dangerous" or at least bad girls, how refreshing it is to discover San Diego's David Vaughn. Striking a balance between the naughty fun of the glam rock of Kiss or the New York Dolls and the bad-boy attitude of early Rolling Stones or Thin Lizzy, Vaughn's music on his new CD is the kind of over-the-top stadium-sized extravaganza that made '70s rock so much fun.

Vaughn pulls it off so well because he's absolutely not embarrassed by the posing and the cheesiness. Instead, like a young David Lee Roth, Freddy Mercury, Ben Harper or Macy Gray, he revels in the excess, embraces the theatrical side of what rock music used to be. Vaughn's songs (he wrote or co-wrote all eight) combine the kind of melodic but chunky pop nuggets that T. Rex specialized in with his self-aware showmanship as singer. Straight-ahead classic rock with elements of alt rock, soul and funk, the music here is purely about providing entertainment. "You & Me" is the best of the eight tracks. It's anchored by a soaring anthemic theme -- listening to it, you can picture Vaughn on a full-sized stage prancing about like Roth, Mick Jagger or David Bowie, fireworks going off behind the stage, costume changes between sets.

See, that's the thing about Vaughn: He clearly recognizes that rock and soul have always been as much about the performance and visuals as the music. And on this album, he provides full value in both music and theatricality.

"Wired" is available from Vaughn's Web site, heardavid.com.

-- JT

FOLK

B+ "Keep Your Silver Shined"

Devon Sproule

City Salvage Records

It's not exactly traditional folk, but not entirely contemporary either. Rather, the music found on the new (fourth) CD from Devon Sproule is a sort of traditional folk for contemporary ears.

Sproule, who is 25 years old, wrote eight of the 10 songs and captures the spirit of traditional music on her compositions through her arrangements: Having clarinet, banjo and accordion on various songs gives the album an old-timey feel to it.

But it's those eight songs she wrote that the instrumentation works, that offer her angelic voice the material it needs to shine. Sproule has a wondrous ability to create melodies of pure and radiant beauty, tunes that will linger in your head long after the CD has stopped spinning.

Devon Sproule plays Wednesday at Lestat's in San Diego.

-- JT