SorryEverAfter: Meet Us When the Lights Go Low

Meet Us When the Lights Go Low is a six-song EP from San Francisco power-pop quartet SorryEverAfter, and a fun ride it is too, for all of its 15-minute running time. Marrying fuzz-heavy guitar bashing with sweet female harmonies for an effect reminiscent of Sleeper or Elastica. Singers Erica Liss, Lynda Mandolyn and Christa DiBiase belt out good-natured rockers like “Polyanna” and “Honey Girl” over a dense bed of churning guitars. Drummer Mike Cloward powers the band along, but it’s the vocals, combined with irresistible pop structures, that makes the songs so darn catchy. Mandolyn is a former member of Fabulous Disaster, and Cloward has been a member of numerous outfits including 28th Day and Ambulance, so the band’s confidence and chops come as no surprise. The only letdown here is that the band opted for an EP release; a back half as strong as this opening salvo would have made for a hell of an album. I suppose we can always play it twice over, meanwhile hoping that the full-length gets released soon.