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Audiofile TAM! Hello My Friends Do You Read Me? Roadrunner It seems that Scotland can't get enough of cloning, given the wicked success of Dolly the doppelgänged ewe--the newest boy "supergroup" is suspiciously similar to Beck, in triplicate. Like Olivia Newton-John in Xanadu, Tam! has taken Beck's voice and has it singing its own backup. Unfortunately, as cute as they are, the members of Tam! never quite win the mellow gold. Their unapologetic homage to Odelay is as pleasing as an homage can be, destined as it is to fall short of its target. (Michael Stabile) the exies Self-titled Ultimatum Music This band takes its name from the existentialist movement and the philosophy that life is a series of struggles between an individual and an apparently irrational universe. With that in mind, one might expect a dreary record filled with despair, but the exies create deliciously elegant, melodic noise-pop full of catchy hooks and riffs. Influenced heavily by the Beatles and other bands of the British Invasion, the exies put a hard, futuristic spin on the sound. The band's Beatles influence is most prominent in the lush "1970," a dreamy song about youth with references to Muhammed Ali, Evel Knievel and Sly & the Family Stone, and in the psychedelic poetry of "Rocket Balloon" ("Spiked on acid/So elastic a springtime is here again/Dream I float above on rocket balloon travels far away"). Coming up fast, with the album due for wide-release next month, comparisons could be made to Lit, Gift Horse and even the Chums (especially on the bouncy first single, "Baby's Got a New Revelation"). (Sarah Quelland) Boy Kicks Girl Public Display of Aggression Self-released A smorgasbord of spitfire Descendents-styled "chuga-chuga" guitar progressions, kamikaze-powered drumming and psychotherapy-riddled vocal sneers, "I Still Believe" is an awesome, kid-tested, mother-approved pogo orgy. I highly recommend listening to "Anti-Social Girl" while watching Boy Meets World on mute--Topanga really shakes her hips to this kind of stuff. You can argue that punk is dead, and a couple of tunes here prove this, but somebody still has to play the funeral reception. Contact the band at P.O. Box 18914, San Jose, 95158 or on the web at http://www.bkg.com. (Matt Koumaras) [ San Jose | Metroactive Central | Archives ]