C Average, Quayde LaHüe, Pushy
Recommended
Megalomaniacal minimalists C Average have spoken criminally little since their Olympia halcyon days in the late '90s, but luckily there are two releases on Kill Rock Stars that memorialize the band's highly technical rock 'n' roll filtered through a prism of fantasy, sci-fi, and progressive metal. Guitarist/vocalist Jon Merithew and double-bass-drum wizard Brad Balsley are masters of squeezing time and space into hard-edged mini rock operas filled with intense bombast. As a two-piece fireball they perform seemingly as a single brain, freely shredding into melodic hyperspace one moment and then stopping quick on razor-sharp dimes at the next. With bassist John Boyce joining in as a third member, C Average's sonic spectrum of fireworks expands ever wider, turning a show that was already an impressive display of precision into an all-out sensual barrage. CHRIS SUTTON