Chavez December 29, 2006

Yes, you read right... CHAVEZ IS BACK! No stranger to the brain-cracking power chord, Chavez differs from bands both from the mid-'90s and now in the application of extraordinary minor-key harmonies and mindblown, fiercely joyous lyrical subjects. These sit easily atop the silver-electric guitarage of Matt Sweeney and Clay Tarver. Scott Marshall's huge bass moves give space and counterpoint to the shattering ANTI-rock drumming of James Lo. Indeed, the band claimed Carl Maria von Weber as a major influence, and it is not hard to think of the lower-Manhattan-based quartet as the reincarnation of 19th-century romanticism via incredible chops and a musical upbringing soaked in the Kinks, AC/DC and Pretty Things. Ferociously rocking with a high-wire fragility, Chavez's music stuns and satisfies like nothing else.

Official Website: http://www.slims-sf.com