Weekend Shows/MP3s: The Cops, American Princes, Moreland Arbuckle

May 2, 2008

Jason Harper,

By JASON HARPER

Princes of Pain

KC is lucky to catch a couple of not-necessarily-hot but totally solid touring acts this weekend. First up, Little Rock, Ark., band American Princes brings its blend of lo-fi guitar pop, broken-throated harmonies, heavy lyrics and big choruses to Davey’s. You won’t find these dudes written up in the hype-osphere, but if you give ’em a chance, it might pay off. This first song here, “Open Letter,” is a chilling and spot-on song about a dysfunctional father-son relationship — and it kind of rocks, too. The next one, “Where I’m Calling From,” is philisophically meandering and sort of depressing but also hopeful — kind of like most of the work by the writer whom song references: Raymond Carver. This one, too, comes with a sweet chorus. If you feel desperate and poor most of the time and like slice-of-life short fiction and guitars, American Princes may be your new fave.

MP3: American Princes, “Open Letter,” from Less and Less (Yep Roc, 2006)

MP3: American Princes, “Where I’m Calling From,” from Other People (Yep Roc, 2008)

Catch them: Friday, May 1, at Davey’s Uptown Ramblers Club

Call the Cops

I wrote about the Cops a couple of issues ago and was later embarrassed to learn that this Seattle band’s latest, Free Electricity, came out last year and was therefore one of 2007’s most underrated records, not this year’s, as I said in the writeup. Oh well, the disk has definitely been in my car a lot the past few weeks, and as a result, I’ve been braking for old ladies and running down chumps in my energy-efficient VW. The Cops’ sharp guitars, streetwise lyrics and neck-jostling rhythms make for rock that’s respectful of punk sensibilities but not bound to them.