Desario

While Sacramento band Desario are just getting around to releasing their debut album, they have a family tree with branches that reach back into the mid-'90s. Featuring members who have been involved with Holiday Flyer, the California Oranges, Rocketship and the Sinking Ships, they have a strong musical heritage, which they attempt to build upon. But, on the whole, Zero Point Zero is a lateral step rather than a jump forward. That wouldn't be a huge problems if all the songs were as catchy as the driving "Nautical Ways" and "Cane Cola," which are reminiscent of the Smoking Popes, but there are too many excursions into melancholy that are much less successful. When they stick with the jangly pop stuff everything is good, and that's something they should know at this point. Still, there's enough good stuff to suggest they shouldn't be written off quite yet.