If you didn’t catch the in-store performance by Claire Cronin this past Sunday afternoon at Rhino Records, you missed out! There is still hope for you: we will be playing excerpts of her performance soon on KSPC, and she’s also got more live dates posted on her Myspace. Stay tuned for more info…

Mandy’s Performance Quality Scale- C+
I have seen many shows during my two years at the Claremont Colleges. There have been highs and lows in terms of performance and band personality, and after many months I have created a Performance Quality Scale in my mind. Ponytail at The Smell on 10/10/08 being at the high end of the scale and Band That Shall Remain Unnamed on 11/22/08 in Dom’s Lounge, Pomona College at the other end of the scale. On this scale, Nathan “Wavves” Williams lands somewhere in the middle.
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Jupiter is Starfucker’s second album, a mini-LP (or mega-EP) full of smooth, playful, dancy electropop with new wave vibes. Their first album was similar in many ways, but for this album they’ve apparently added a fourth member and given their sound an extra coat of glossy production. This allows them to incorporate playful parts into a few of their songs without disrupting the song’s exterior, and this playfulness (and their decision to cover Cyndi Lauper) sets them apart from the pack. Jupiter can most easily be compared to Chromeo or Passion Pit, but feels more like a combination of Crystal Castles and Fujiya & Miyagi, or Dan Deacon and Alex Mack.

-Fleet Admiral Zipper