The clown princes of noise rock, Stay Gold Pony Boy have at last released some material for the world to glom on to. This is good news for everybody, as now there are recorded versions of should-be instant dorm-room classics like "Dukes of Fuck" and "The Sword of Testaeklys." The four-piece don't take themselves too seriously, but that doesn't mean they aren't serious about their music. There's a definite Sabbath-esque groove to some of their songs, but not in the kind of way that evokes anything like typical stoner rock. Certain passages of It Hangs above You recall the majesty of Unwound at their finest, and others sound more like early Wire playing a sound track to a particularly sweet D&D session. The bottom line with Stay Gold Pony Boy is that while you can make a lot of references to what they sound like – Band X meets Band Y, and the like – they are a unique band with their own developing voice, and worth checking out. It takes a certain kind of group to write a song about a naughty alchemist and not have it border on the ridiculous. This is smart, good rock music. (Conan Neutron)

E-zee Tiger
E-zee Tiger (KimoSciotic)

It's hard to believe one man pulls off the psychedelic noise rock on this raucous, freewheeling, and ambitious gem of an album. E-zee Tiger's Anthony Petrovic tackles each track and carefully deconstructs sound with effortless ease on the eponymous release. Like My Bloody Valentine – though a lot less dreary and more fun to watch – Petrovic manipulates distortion and fuzzy guitar into shimmering blasts of energy. Starting with a rock number complete with frenetic laser beam sound effects, he moves sound into the wiry psychedelic abyss, pounding his drums in the background to give noise shape on "The Tiger Bounce." But Petrovic is unlikely to stick to any one form or beat. He switches from fast-paced, pounding rock, to lo-fi guitar riffs coupled with inky, fading vocals on "Ballad for the Scooter Heshian," to a simple organ ballad on "Lil'n Organ Thang." His unsettled nature carries over to the stage, where Petrovic is a trip to watch. Surrounded by enough equipment to start a garage sale, and with his back almost always turned to the audience, he jumps from drums to four-track to guitar, yelling quirks like "I'll give you a lot of money, if you bring me some whiskey" into the microphone. E-zee Tiger's music is unpretentiously eccentric – with the potential to combust! (Stephanie Laemoa)

Mail stuff for review to Sarah Han, Bay Guardian Building, 135 Mississippi St., S.F. CA 94107.