Music history is filled with great dropped ideas, and the1990s, in particular, were rife with them. Milwaukee’s TestaRosa picks up some of these loose ends, continuing where bands likeBelly, That Dog, Throwing Muses or pretty much any other band that everfeatured Tanya Donelly or one of the Haden triplets left off. Allusions to the’90s abound: The guitars adhere to the same strum-and-squall dynamic of ’90salterna-pop; Betty Blexrud-Strigens cough-syrup-smooth vocals evoke Kim Deal;the hazy bass riff on “Ollie Delilah” nods to Weezer’s iconic “Only in Dreams”riff. This isn’t to say they’re just s’90s revivalists, though. They writepowerful, stripped-down ball
There’s little to say about Milwaukee’s excellent Juniper Tar that hasn’t already been said: They singrelaxed, rustic rock songs with Bryds-esque four-part harmonies that inevitablygive way to blistering, crashing, tag-team guitar send-offs. It’s a formulathat actually pays off better for Juniper Tar than it has for Wilco, whoserecent albums toy with a more extreme but less satisfying soft/loud dynamic.
It’s hard not to think of that climactic scene in High Fidelity where Jack Black finally unveils his band whenwatching The Celebrated Workingman, the indie-rock bandfronted by Mark Waldoch, long a familiar face at Milwaukee’s answer toChampionship Vinyl, Atomic Records. With excitable hand gestures and poppedeyes, he conducted his band with Hold Steady-ish cheer, leading them through aboisterous set of triumphant drums and wild, winding guitars. His enthusiasmwas contagious.