Pocket for Corduroy

Obvious hook for a lazy writer: This Nevada City quartet includes Andrew Hodgson, son of Roger Hodgson, as in Supertramp. But Breakfast in America this ain’t—even if old dad did help out a bit on the technical end. These four songs, recorded three years ago, are much more darkly angular and, thus, contemporary; think early XTC meets Nine Inch Nails, Wire, Nirvana, Fugazi, et cetera. Hodgson (I’m presuming that’s him at the mike) sings with the requisite amount of detached urgency, the vocal harmonies are subtle but emerge with repeated listens, the two guitars-bass-drums configuration erects a monolithic yet elegant cathedral of noise. The only fault here is that the two more accessible cuts—“Everything You’re On” and “F Test”—are third and fourth; your typical major-label A&R weasel wouldn’t make it past “Something’s Changed” and “We Surrender” to find them. But you can. And I suggest you do.