Hits and Misses

Eric Alexandrakis

It's hard to quantify an album that actually frightens you. If you're going to a party and everyone there is chilling out to Eric Alexandrakis's I.V. Catatonia, leave. These are sketchy people. It's really not the best scene to get involved in. If there's no one around to judge you, though, lock the door and listen up. Alexandrakis gets some amazing effects using lo-fi recording and unexpected household "instruments." There are plenty of good songs dominated by his vocals and a guitar (like "Thanatopsis"), but he's also willing to use almost any object to get the sounds he wants. The title track is dark and furious, with spoken-word lyrics over a gritty guitar cycle, and while it may creep you out, it's undeniably good. Don't expect everything to sound the same, though, as he dips into experimental rock and even a little Dylan-esque folk. To Alexandrakis's credit, this may not be a slick, polished album _ and it's damn odd _ but it's got texture to spare.

- Drew Shelton

Calendar Girl

Spread the word: of all the "pop-rock" bands in Boston, at least one is worth listening to. Drawing from previous years of experience in assorted punk groups, the four members of Calendar Girl make the effort they put into Everyone But You, their first full-length, show. "Where Have All The Heroes Gone?" opens the album on an energetic note, making the band sound a bit like Weezer on speed. The creative guitar dissonance on "Crawl" compliments the moodiness of the song, and paves the way for a few annoyingly slow, touchy cuts, like "Pure" and "French." But "Long Time," an anger-singed drinking song, recaptures Everyone But You's energy, even if more destructive than poppy. Still, the band cannot resist the rock clich?© of slapping on its sappiest love song as track 13: "Tonight Forever."

Everyone But You, an uncommonly solid album, will be released in April, but you can catch the band live at the Middle East March 10.

- Rob Bellinger

Freezepop

Bottom line: Freezepop's new CD, Freezepop Forever, is indeed both round and plastic, and, like most CDs, it makes a pretty satisfying humming noise when it spins inside a CD player. Unfortunately, that's about all that can be said for it. Freezepop calls itself synth-pop, and it's one of the most aptly named pseudo-genres around. The "synth" part is clear from the tinny beats and vocoder effects, and the "pop" part... well, Freezepop is neither a record-industry heavyweight nor a group of tortured artists trying to make an impact on the world. Each song's backbeats have the potential to form some decent electronic music, but Freezepop won't allow it. With unabashedly stupid lyrics like, "Synthesizer playing is my trade/I have the IQ of someone in second grade," and an inexplicable affinity for the '80s-era vocoder effect, Freezepop may take the prize for most baffling and inexcusable album of the year - and it's still only February. - Drew Shelton