Vue

San Francisco’s Vue hitch a ride on the region’s psych-rock revival with Babies are for Petting, but unlike their Bay Area brethren (BRMC, the Warlocks) the quintet lack the depth and drone that make their contemporaries sound relevant. Their bluesy, barroom attack manages to hold its own throughout this five-song EP, even when front-man Rex Shelverton’s drunken delivery strains on the album’s title track. It’s Shelverton’s erratic shriek that thwarts the well-greased band on tracks like the tub-thumping backwoods bonfire of "Hey Hey Not in Here” and the woozy ooze of "It Won’t Last.” Unfortunately, a live run through "Find Your Home,” the lone holdover from the band’s last LP of the same name, lacks the energy that one would expect. A talented band stuck at a time-travelling crossroads who desperately need to plant their feet in the present. I’m sure the NME’ll love ‘em.