File Under: Indie Rock rating: C+ tracks 1. Patient Pilgrim 2. FAQ 3. Capsule Wardrobe 4. Come to My Senses 5. Keep It Coming 6. To Be the First 7. Emergent 8. Around 9. Our Angel 10. At Home with the Stars 11. Clouds 12. Too Soon to Leave related links TVfordogs Wampus Multimedia

Tvfordogs' album, Heavy Denver, starts off with an electronic drum and bass sounding intro, but immediately switches into a fast, punky rock song. It's quite catchy - the guitars swing back and forth in their simple melody, and with a build-up of distortion and feedback, "Patient Pilgrim" is a spacey, but tuneful first song.

The album sounds very crisp and clear; production-wise, it sounds very well done, with an equal balance of every instrument and vocal. It's a very straight-ahead record, which utilizes simple structure, and isn't afraid to extend a solo or an instrumental break. Without causing the song to falter, an extended musical stretch without vocals is not a negative characteristic here.

The third track, 'Capsule Wardrobe," uses a slower approach to the spacey-guitar sound, weaving a dreamy, mellow song. Wavy vocals with good harmonies and an added keyboard tinkle after the first verse creates a very laid-back atmosphere without losing a certain heaviness.

"Keep it Coming" puts the bass at the forefront, adding a funk-driven line that leads the song. But immediately afterwards, "To be the First" is definitely more of a punk song: fast tempo, a screaming vocal chorus, and hard-hitting guitars make this a quick but heavy song. Afterwards, the next track is significantly slower and completely unlike the previous songs. Acoustic strums, strings, and fading drums making "Emergence" a quiet instrumental, full of swirling imagery and sound.

Tvfordogs do not hesitate to try and spread themselves over the musical landscape that is the genre. Moving from slow moving songs, to peppy punk tunes or simple rock songs, the pop influence does not take away from the music. The better tracks are "Around," "Capsule Wardrobe," and "Too Soon to Leave," which perfectly display the band's versatility and talent of taking a good melody, and turning it into whatever they desire, be it a quick song, or a dreamy instrumental. Tvfordogs is definitely a band that shows a clever songwriting talent, but with a track listing that doesn't show a true standout song, the album does tend to idle as one song goes into another.

Tom Fraher is a Contributing Writer. Contact him at tomf@rockzone.com.