New noise Suicide Liquors, the StereoBirds, and the Gobshites BY BOB GULLA

New bands, new records, and the cycle of local music continues. With each release, a band embarks on a hopeful journey. Few know where that journey will lead, but most hope it will take them away from where they are.

Suicide Liquors (www.myspace.com/suicideliquors)

The sound of the ’70s pervades the debut from Suicide Liquors. The band, which consists of singer-guitarist Bill Cole, singer-bassist Pete Burr, singer-guitarist George Sullivan, and drummer-singer John Berard, combines the crisp barre chord guitar work of bands like Kiss, the James Gang, and Boston with the indie-rock approach of guitar specialists like Buffalo Tom in coming up with a pretty potent approach to hard rock.

The material on their 12-song demo does a good job of distinguishing itself in a couple of ways. The vocal work of all four members gives the band an additional element to work with. Many of the vocals and melodies are excellent, hummable, and memorable, especially on tunes such as the opening "The Day I Lost Her Face" and "Homeless Girl." There’s also some sweet guitar playing, both lead and dual rhythm stuff. Cole and Sullivan pump out some exciting lead, with some of the best entrances I’ve heard around here in a long while. Some of the leads leap out like classic southern rock, others are more amorphous a la Neil Young or J Mascis. Still it’s great to hear such unabashed dexterity at a time when the guitar has come to be more villainous than heroic in some circles.

When the band breaks out of its hard rock box on the rootsy "Michigan," suggesting a passionate songwriter like Freedy Johnston, or the acoustic "Scary Jokes," the result varies the formula nicely, providing the album with pivotal alternative focal points and keeping the band from falling into a rut.

In the end, while it’s hard to know just what kind of band Suicide Liquors wants to be, they’re adept at whatever they tackle. With this kind of ability, they can turn roots, hard rock, southern rock, or classic pop-rock sounds into their own. While that versatility can occasionally be confusing to audiences, it’s ultimately a good thing that will keep this band one step ahead of the competition.

The StereoBirds: American Girls, American Boys (www.thestereobirds.com)

It’s heartening to hear a band improve, despite enduring lineup changes and various other stumbling blocks. It means they have focus, and regardless of what happens in the margins of the band, the core remains solid and intent. It’s obvious once the opening tune "Nicole America" reaches its bridge and the big payoff chorus that the StereoBirds have wrestled those changes to the ground, kept a stiletto heel on its throat, and emerged stronger performers and songwriters. It’s the band’s signature track and one of the best they’ve ever written. The follow-up song, "Here Again," features guest vocalist Tanya Donelly and an excellent organ cameo from Elizabeth Steen, and is a moving and tactful tribute to the victims of the Station fire. It holds its own next to the powerful "Nicole America" and is another standout.

The other selections on the album don’t fare quite as well, falling short of the mark set by the rewarding highs of the opening one-two punch. "That Girl" spews a sassy, mean-spirited lyric, but without the potent hook to complement it. "Optimistic" is a commendable attempt at rootsy pop, but a loud guitar build-up defuses the charm.

I would have loved hearing the whole tune that goes by the name of "Napoleon." On the disc you only get the song’s outro, which to me sounds like a good Josie and the Pussycats track. Maybe next time, as the band continues forward on its intense quest toward self-improvement.

The Gobshites: When the Shite Hits the Fans

I’ve often asked myself, or someone like me, "Gee, I wonder what you’d get if a bunch of drunken Irish yobs — musicians, that is — all got together and decided to cover hardcore punk rock tunes about their favorite subject: drinking!?" Well, before I could get a decent answer from myself, the Gobshites beat me to it with their debut CD. It’s the sound of a fun-lovin’ bunch of drinking buddies kicking up their heels and revving through a kegger of hearty ale.

Don’t believe me? Well, the ’Shites dig into tunes like Stiff Little Fingers’ "Drinkin’ Again," Black Flag’s "Six Pack," and GG Allin’s "Drink Fight and Fuck." Hell knows there’s enough punk rock drinkin’ songs for the lads to choose from. Shane MacGowan and the Mekons weren’t even touched this time through . . . Over the years, Irish-oriented bands — Black 47, Flogging Molly, et at. — have provided us with some serious good-time fun from the stage, and the Gobshites take their rightful place on that illustrious list. Led by occasional punk rocker Pete Walsh (Meat Depressed) on vox, guitar, and pennywhistle, and flanked by fiddle, accordion, mandolin, banjo, drums, and bass, the band never loses its head, never turns the songs into a bloody mess. Each instrument is given a little room to breathe. My only gripe is that it doesn’t really do their rollicking live shows the kind of justice they deserve. But, realistically, would that ever be possible when sights and smells are still a long way away from showing up on CD?

Wandering Eye. Planet Groove hits the Ocean Mist at Matunuck Beach tonight (Thursday, May 5) for a Cinco De Mayo bash. Mary Ellen Casey will be at the Main Street Coffee house in East Greenwich on Saturday (the 7th) from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m.

The Bohemian Quartet is a new band formed around the violinist Stan Renard. Stan is from France, and in his younger days (he is all of 24 now) he traveled around Europe with a few brilliant Gypsy musicians. And you know what kind of music those gypsies play. Let’s just say be prepared to sweat. The band will make their debut performance at the RISD Tap Room on Friday (the 6th) at 8 p.m.

Stone Soup Coffeehouse mixes it up a bit this weekend when they present folk music with a Latin flair. On Saturday, the Coffeehouse welcomes back Jose Gonzales and the Criollo Clasico. The acoustic/instrumental quartet performs original compositions as well as Latin American, classical, pop, and jazz music. The concert begins at 8 p.m. at the Boy & Girls Club of Pawtucket Arts Center (210 Main Street). Tickets are $12.

It’s another busy weekend again at the rockin’ Rocky Point Pub in Warwick. Eric Narwhal entertains on Friday and Livid holds forth on Saturday. Also on Saturday at the Westside Arts Center on Broadway, it’s John Fuzek, Jason Wilder, and Christopher Monti in a night of provocative acoustic music. And at Cats in Pawtucket it’s Rebecca Nurse, the Room, and Stone Soul Foundation on Friday, and Routine 8, Sicks Deep, Inner Self Lost, Hawthorne Effect on Saturday.

E-mail me at big.daddy1@cox.net.