B-Side Themselves

f you aren't hip to the local music scene, consider this your first lesson--The b-sides, a group of promising up-and-comers from Chapel Hill just released their first LP, Yes, Indeed,The b-sides, Quite!, a pretty impressive voyage into the wacky world of geek rock.

Formed last year by five teenage friends, and recently joined by former Squirrel Nut Zippers' bassist Ken Mosher, The b-sides combine a fresh, youthful goofiness with a musical proficiency that is anything but juvenile. Drawing heavily from a range of influences such as Weezer, Spacehog, Cake and The Beach Boys, The b-sides' latest effort represents everything admirable and refreshing about indie music: simple, catchy, lyrically charged pop accented with shades of more complex, often experimental instrumentation--all created by a band that appears to be having a lot of fun.

There's something appealing about a group that, in addition to family and friends, remembers to thank such profound life influences as Corey Feldman and Alf in its liner notes.

It's this quirky sense of humor and genuine enjoyment of their craft that just might propel The b-sides to bigger and better things. According to the band, Yes, Indeed is merely the beginning--a prequel "best of" album for projects yet to come. Actually, they say they already have enough material for their next four recordings. You have to admire their confidence, and, if subsequent efforts are half as solid, their musical ability as well.

Whatever the future holds, The b-sides are doing pretty well right now. Yes, Indeed's initial local release earned it the title of best selling local album by an unsigned band in over three years at Chapel Hill's Schoolkids Records, and judging from their energy, they aren't stopping anytime soon. North Carolina has another band to be proud of--yes, indeed.

GRADE: A-