Simple Devices

The sophomore album from San Francisco indie rockers Little Yellow Perfect covers a lot of ground. The disc is short — just under a half-hour of music — but shows strong influences from across the realm of rock and pop. The opening track "C'Mon" sounds a bit like recent U2 efforts, while later in the album "Building a Better You" takes that U2 influence and adds in a bit of something newer and edgier (Modest Mouse, maybe?). Singer Chris Logan provides much of the sound structure by way of his slightly strained vocals with hints of both Bono and Liam Gallagher, but a little of something new as well. The songs themselves are catchy, riffy numbers anchored by some able bass courtesy of "The Sound" and guitar courtesy of Jason Bridges. Ultimately, this is modern college rock that wants to hold up the sophistication of the British supergroups while keeping the slightly gritty indie feel of an urban arts scene. Simple Devices manages to land itself pretty firmly in between the two ends — not quite clean, not quite sophisticated, not quite finished, but more than the standard fare of modern alternative rock. Absolutely worth a spin.