Foundation for Public Broadcasting: Party Size

FPB is one of the most interesting local bands to see perform live. They mix films, slides, and bizarre lighting into their wall-o-noise sound. I've seen them live a bunch of times but I never realized how well their music could translate to disk. This CD features 50 minutes of music broken up onto 14 cuts with a clean, crisp, and precise production. It's really compelling music, inspired by the original avant-garde and industrial bands but they avoid the trap of trendy techno and instead decide to carve out their own niche. An excellent introduction to one of the more interesting San Francisco bands.

James Cribley, Commercial Failure, 2005 Mission St, Box 56, San Francisco, CA 94110 (CD/RSF) No trades/no ads.