8/15/04 Local Music Guide 2004

Snatches of Pink
Stumbling, double-visioned, Stonesy-swagger with a rebellious rock roar; scabrous, calloused guitar slipping through the hole in their melodic pocket and trailing behind like a series of dysfunctional relationships. The glam is gone but the dream isn't, as singer/guitarist Michael Rank's retrofitted outfit returns as a four-piece, jettisoning the textured explorations of Clarissa, and re-engineering the early hard rocking crunch into a hungrier, open-mawed bite of riff-heavy, fist-in-the-air rawk that makes the New York Dolls look like a bunch of cross-dressing momma's boys. A dozen years had passed since the last Snatches album and half as many since the last Clarissa, but Rank shows no moss on their latest, Hyena (Morisen), which came out last year. --CP
 www.snatchesofpink.com
SIMILAR 2: New York Dolls, Afghan Whigs, The Replacements

The Never
Originally assembled for a school project, The Never released an album and an EP under the name The B-sides, but changed it when their rhythm section left. Demonstrating a sophistication that belies their tender years, this Pittsboro quartet play sumptuous pop that mixes soaring Beach Boys-style harmonies with churning prog rock-descended arrangements and winsome melodies, which still fail to do justice to the band's stylistic breadth. Their latest album, Enjoying the Outdoors (MoRisen), came out in May. --CP
 www.the-never.com
 SIMILAR 2: Weezer, Barenaked Ladies, They Might Be Giants

Marat
If on the latest Snatches record, singer/guitarist Michael Rank reigns in his glam impulses in favor of galloping, Stonesy rawk, then Marat's emerged as the outlet for an even fuller hard rock approach. Full of squealing solos, loping ballads draped in long, textured curtains of guitar, and that rock star essence best imagined in the seedy leather and jean clad ghost of Mark Bolan, Marat delivers prickly seventies metal renovated for immediate occupancy. More hard-riffing than heavily hooked, there's a certain churn and chug to the band's movement. Their self-titled debut came out last Fall. --CP
 www.maratband.com
 SIMILAR 2: Sweet, Smashing Pumpkins, T. Rex

Dillon Fence
Winston-Salem high school pals and bandmates Greg Humphreys and Chris Goode parted ways before college but reunited years later to form jangle pop powerhouse Dillon Fence with guitarist Kent Alphin and drummer Brooke Pitts. Pitts took a quick exit and was replaced by Scott Carle; Mammoth Records signed Fence in 1991 on the strength of a demo re-released in 1993. Three albums and a series of transitional EPs followed, but Alphin and Goode quit before a short-lived band hit the road with The Black Crowes and former fraternity circuit brothers Hootie & The Blowfish. The Goode/Carle lineup re-formed for a reunion show on December 22, 2000, and Dillon Fence recently toured in support of Best+, an upcoming collection of favorites and seven new songs. --GC
 www.dillonfence.com
 SIMILAR 2: The Connells, Hootie & The Blowfish, Oasis