This is Me Smiling: s/t (One Haven/Red Ink/Sony)
release: March 6, 2007
style: Piano-lead rock pop
rating: ***
Oh man I could totally write something witty and forcefully humorous here regarding the band's name. You know like, this is me [fill in the blank]. Ha. Nah, that's dumb, I don't have time for that. Chicago area band This is Me Smiling is going to, without a doubt, be compared to Ben Folds Five. Not just for the piano, but for the vocals as well. It would be like Ben Folds looking into a mirror. But hold up, cause This is Me Smiling rocks harder. They toured with All American Rejects and by the time this debut gets to "Goodbye to Each New Day" and "So Excited to Sleep" it's easy to hear why. -Kenyon
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Oreskaband: s/t teaser EP (Terry Dollar/Sony)
release: ???
style: Ska
rating: **1/2
Oreskaband is puzzling. I'm just not sure what to make of them. On one hand, they're, well, ska. The third wave of which died about 8 years ago and more or less replaced for the suburban kids by emo (especially on long island!) Plus they have the obligatory "ska" in the band name. On the other hand, they're a really cute, young, fun, upbeat all-female Japanese band. Either the Japanese are far behind in trends or these girls will be leading the way for a fourth ska wave. -Kenyon

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Big Business: Here Comes the Waterworks (Hydra Head)
release: March 6
style: big sludge metal stuff
rating: **1/2
The song title "Another Fourth of July...Ruined" is awesome. The old-school metal-rooted noise of Big Business (not to be confused with the Business) is so bass-end sludgey and heavy we need some construction vehicles to move it. -Kenyon