Quick Hits

by INLANDER & r & & r & & lt;span class= & quot;dropcap & quot; & Y & lt;/span & ou gotta get past their horrendous name. (Dudes, there's still time to change it before labels come a-knockin'.) But once you do, you'll find THE JONNYFOREST has quickly become one of Spokane's most promising bands. The group's self-titled EP reveals its penchant for melodic grandeur (you can't have too much grandeur nowadays, and it is plentiful on "Get the Fitness") and a budding knack for angular pop hooks. "Senator Elect," for example, starts with a dark and energetic intro but never capitalizes on its promise with a chorus worthy of its verses. The JonnyForest is almost there: Thumbs up to the epic Jeff Buckley-influenced chord changes and slow-burning anthems, but the inexplicably Seinfeldian bass lines and chorus-drenched guitar solos feel out of place. Jay Beal's vocal presence is the red thread that strings these songs together, and if the other musicians can figure out how to fall in line behind him into something cohesive, they'll be unstoppable.


-- JOEL HARTSE





The JonnyForest at Mizuna on Friday, July 20, time TBA. Free. Call 747-2004.





& lt;span class= & quot;dropcap & quot; & D & lt;/span & ear GARY JULES,


Just wanted to make sure we're on the same page. We are expecting you to play your gorgeous cover of Tears for Fears' "Mad World" at your show. To be honest, we didn't know that you'd recorded any other songs, because a) we didn't know it was you covering "Mad World," in the first place (nice job, though), and b) you haven't been mass-marketed to us the way you might have been after the Donnie Darko soundtrack (and we are thankful for this).





Anyhoo, recently we found out that the rest of your catalogue is damned decent acoustic pop with a hint of that wounded tenderness that penetrated our cold, ironic hearts when we heard that cover. It was a pleasant surprise, but we still just want to hear "Mad World." Maybe you could play it twice?





Love, Everybody


- JOEL HARTSE





Gary Jules with Jim Bianco at Big Easy Bourbon Street on Saturday, July 21, at 7 pm. $10; $12, at the door. Call 244-3279.





& lt;span class= & quot;dropcap & quot; & A & lt;/span & t first listen, the Albuquerque band SOULAR seems gentle and childlike. Some lyrics include "Love, Crash, Heal; Love I Feel," or "Where do you go for love?" It isn't until the song "Tomorrow Never Comes" that the clich & eacute; lyrics finally find their musical correlate. The sound meshes. The vocals, the drums, the guitar and even the keyboard-- are so melded together that the sound that flows out is so pure and so perfect. By adding a couple of lyrics surrounding what seems prepubescent-longing, the crystalline clarity of their music comes out in a naked, clear and ultimately pure sound.





In a way, it seems too perfectly pretty. The band plays to the humming vocals of Marsh, who leads the band. Some of the lyrics can make you choke, in their own way, very uniquely. With such a pure and perfect sound, there really isn't anything else they could sing about other than love and longing.


-- TAMMY MARSHALL





Soular at Empyrean on Wednesday, July 25, at 7 pm. $7. Call 838-9819.