CD review time, whether you like it or not!

The Joggers' Solid Guild hails from a very tiny label and was released in 2003. My cursory check of the internet indicates it's no longer in print, I'm sorry to report (although still easily available at this writing). Based in Portland, Oregon, the quartet plays a slightly subdued form of indie rock. By that, I mean they eschew overtly hard rock maneuvers such as power chords and screaming in favor of moderately complex twin-guitar patterns played with care and singing that seems reserved. I'm occasionally struck by how the band can resemble The Strokes, a more successful indie band from New York--particularly the languorous, fuzz-toned melodies sung by vocalist Ben Whitesides.

So, you're not going to get a dose of very fast or very loud on this album, but the songs are engaging, despite Mr. Whiteside's tendency to use a withdrawn singing style with little affect. The band appears to have a tendency to create intricate arrangements for the three stringed instruments (two guitars and a bass) and at times, the playing gets a bit ragged on a track like "Every Other Word", as if their ambitions outstrip their skills. This is also true when they indulge in harmony singing, although the effect is engagingly charming due to their enthusiastic willingness to try their schoolboy harmonies out on "Back To The Future". Lyrically, things can be a bit hard to follow, but there's nothing here that would make you roll your eyes at some brainless couplet or cliche.

8 out of 10

CDs listened to today:

• Test Icicles: For Screening Purposes Only
• Various Artists: Brazil: Forro, Music For Maids And Taxi Drivers
• Emma Lou Diemer: Concerto In One Movement For Piano
• Dorrance Stalvey: String Quartet 1989
• Various Artists: Trojan Ska Box, disk 3
• Metric: Live It Out