Adaptor 45, Drive-In Scenes from the Highway

Much like most people the world over, I judge books by their covers. Withholding judgment has never been my thing; that’s why I ended up a critic. But I’m also happy to experience a change of heart and shift my allegiance away from first to second impressions. In fact, I get a kick out of such surprises. This CD is a good example. The cover is a blurry, badly cropped image of a drive-in, the font is this horrible retro dot matrix printer thing, and the press bumf promises “a dynamic and high energy recording of heavy guitar riffs, floating leads, layered melodic vocals and driving rhythms.” Uh, next? Luckily, that same bumf also mentions that members of this band had previously played in Chicken Milk, Venus Cures All, Maow, and the Stinkies (among other mid-90s guitar rockers). Okay, now we’re talking. The daughters of Husker Dü have retreated from the big city (in this case, to Port Severn, Ontario) but continue to cook up catchy tunes with a couple guitars, some comforting distortion and a drummer who benefits from working construction. (Terence Dick)

CD, www.adaptor45.ca