This month is stacked with great gigs, and for me, the fun began tonight. Adem (a band led by one of the members of Fridge) were mellow, pleasant, and anodyne, playing country-fied love songs amid odd and engaging instrumentation (various glockenspiels, a drum that sounded like a table top, sticks -- along with conventional organ and guitar). It was enjoyable, but wasn't the sort of thing I can ever imagine listening to at home. I own just one Mojave 3 album, and I haven't been clamouring for more.

Given Aden's modest volume, the eardum shock between them and the absolutely sensational Explosions in the Sky were even more apparent. They've taken the best bits of Godspeed and Mogwai (obvious influences), trimming the fat from the expansive intros (read: boring parts according to their critics) while attacking their instuments with the aggressiveness and sound levels of the latter. And like Mogwai, their records give little warning as to how much they'll crush you when played live.