March 18 2003

Halou (pronounced "huh-loo"), a band from San Francisco by way of Santa Cruz, depart from the rather brittle, industrial-informed sound of their 2001 album, Wiser, on their latest release, Wholeness. Vocalist Rebecca Coseboom continues to create beautiful vocal shards, mixing the odd twang of Garbage's Shirley Manson with a dark, torchlike quality that often seems borrowed from Portishead's Beth Gibbons. But on this EP – a prelude to the band's forthcoming album, Wholeness and Separation – the backing beats stray into the gray area where shoegazer rock intersects with samplers and electronic trickery.

Though the five-track record kicks off with the jarring, often brutal "Wiser Rmx," crashing beats soon mellow into four wistful episodes. "Wholeness" modifies jangly, surging guitars with synthetic effects to create a modern update on the 4AD sound. The track is marred by a somewhat cliché whispered interlude, but it remains a solid, endearing slice of pop. "The Ratio of Freckles to Stars" showcases the strength and control of Coseboom's vocals over husband Ryan Coseboom's stirring instrumentation. And rounding out the EP, "Ingenue" and "Everything Is OK" serve up even more lush, melancholic melodies and subtle electronic pulses; their soothing dulcet tones are an appropriate accompaniment for that lovey-dovey late-night make-out session and that first cup of coffee the morning after. Halou play March 27, DNA Lounge, S.F. (415) 626-1409. (Vivian Host)

Gruntsplatter
Chronicling the Famine (Desolation House)

Boy, is Gruntsplatter a great band name. It's a little misleading, though, because it sounds like the name of a death metal band, and Gruntsplatter is not a metal band, or even a band, period. It's the solo project of Richmond District dweller Scott Candey, an apparently busy-as-hell guy who is almost invisible around these parts unless you know exactly where to look. He runs a label, Crionic Mind (whose best-known roster member is Zeni Geva guitarist K.K. Null), and coedits the long-running metal-experimental zine Worm Gear. He also has a slew of recordings out via collaborative projects with groups bearing shadowy names such as Umbra and Blunt Force Trauma. The music runs the gamut from creepy-drone ambience to heavy-duty electronic noise.