A few months back, SPIN Magazine dedicated a huge amount of space in their pages to the “Saddle Creek” sound. Even after hearing basically every Saddle Creek release, I’m still not sure if it has a “sound.” Instead the bands seem to have like minds when it comes to experimenting with their music and admirably try not to fall into one sound.

NOW IT’S OVERHEAD’s debut album was a dreamy tablet of subtle sounds and with Fall Back Open, they’ve decided to turn up the tempo about half a notch. You won’t fall asleep but you won’t be dancing either. Frontman Andy Lemaster sounds much improved with some years of touring with Conor Oberst under his belt. He allows his love for DEPECHE MODE to show through on the dazzling “Profile” where his voice is strong and pronounced. But it doesn’t hold up on every track.

Luckily, Lemaster has enough sway to bring in Oberst and this guy named Stipe to contribute to a few songs. But even then they’re used sparingly as backing to Lemaster. Still the two songs “Fall Back Open” and “Antidote” are two of the better-written tracks, but won’t stick in anyone’s head, either.

As a whole, the album suffers from a general malaise. Talent can be heard everywhere but that doesn’t translate to a moving record. THE POSTAL SERVICE does a little better job at adding programmed beats to quiet indie rock and writes better songs too. NOW IT’S OVERHEAD should concentrate on creating more of a sonic landscape like they’ve shown before with great success.

Indie Pick of the Week

If any band conjures what rock and roll really means, it’s GUNS N ROSES. Not the new incarnation, of course, but the classic “Paradise City” and “Patience”-era GNR. There were even some gems on the Use Your Illusion discs. One thing GNR does not conjure images of is today’s hardcore scene. Yet here is Law Of Inertia’s full-tilt homage replete with guttural growls, off-key screams and double pedal drum kits.

ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE starts things off with “Welcome To The Jungle” and while the intro sounds like this compilation might work, the song quickly turns into a boring mess of metal guitars. And lots of other combinations just don’t seem to fit, including a horrible take of “It’s So Easy” by UNEARTH. The recording alone is so poor that the drums are almost completely inaudible. MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD too just sounds like any hardcore band doing “Sweet Child of Mine.” And lets just say songs that might have seemed slightly degrading with Axl Rose singing them transform into disturbing moments with demonic growls like BLEEDING THROUGH’s “Rocket Queen.”

BREAK THE SILENCE turns in a decent take of “Night Train” five tracks in and for the first time, melody is heard. Unfortunately the BTS tune sounds too much like a cover band rather than its own group. DEATH BY STEREO does the opposite and infuses its more straight-up punk style into “Anything Goes” and while it's not much like the original, at least it sounds like a band with talent.

There are somewhat interesting contributions, like an acoustic “I Used To Love Her” by EVERY TIME I DIE and an emo-ish “Estranged” by THE BEAUTIFUL MISTAKE.

Then there are the amazing bands. TIME IN MALTA takes on “November Rain’s” epic proportions without intimidation. Singer Todd Gullion wisely keeps his vocals in the background adding to the band’s style more than a lame attempt at mimicking Axl Rose. His band also takes the high road and instead of trying to top the Slash solo, breaks the song down in melodic hardcore tradition.

THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN's gritty, high-speed take of "My Michelle" sounds nothing like the original but will turn listeners on their ears with its frenetic pace.

Quickly turning into one of my favorite new bands is EIGHTEEN VISIONS, who faithfully deliver a dark-tinged “Paradise City.” They heavily borrow form classic metal on their own albums and it shows here.

As tributes go, this is a mixed bag. But if any of these band names sound familiar give it a shot. For me, the three amazing songs make the whole effort worthwile.

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