cortez! cortez!! was "born from the restless mind of Barney McKenna and raised in the dirty streets of Philadelphia." On their debut album "8 for Infinity," a collection of 8 songs that the band considers "not an EP - not a demo - just songs," they create an album full of catchy hooks, memorable sing-along lyrics and engaging compositions that pull you in at first listen. While "8 for Infinity" does sound like something that would be coming out of the Brooklyn/NYC indie music scene, it shouldn't be dismissed as just another disposable indie electro rock album.

"8 for Infinity" opens with "Hidden Cities," a freak folk-ish tune where McKenna sings falsetto and channels the soul of Syd Barrett. After lulling you into a psychedelic haze, they follow with my favorite song from the collection, "Newspapers." The tune gets your head bobbing and toes tapping until you are in full out dance mode with arms and legs flailing while you are belting out "don't stare too long you're burning out your eyes/cause one day you will turn your head and blow your mind!" Try not to keep hitting repeat for this one because there is more to come, but I have to admit that I might have replayed it once or twice. cortez! cortez!! once again changes pace with "Where Do You Go" which opens with instrumental and vocal layers that pull you into McKenna's existential nihilistic dilemmas, but the party must go on in "Bad Lieutenant." OK, maybe it might help not to get lumped in with the bazillion Brooklyn/NYC indie electro rock bands if you don't sing about "the melody on the New York streets." What's wrong with your very own dirty Philly streets? Philly also has two syllables which fit perfectly. Hopefully, they'll at least switch it up in their live version. Sorry, that was my hometown love rant. "Bad Lieutenant" would be the soundtrack to the chase scene from "Trainspotting" if some La La Land jerk-off decided to remake it with the setting in New York, which might happen with the lack of original ideas coming out of the movie industry in Hollowwood. For the next track, if you got the bassist from Devo, NYC buzz band Naked Hearts and New Order's drum machine into the studio together, they'd probably record "Highways." cortez! cortez!! ends "8 for Infinity" on a mellow psychedelic note like they began this journey. "Paper Train" sounds like something you would hear from the stage of the hippest modern-day opium den or cowboy/western hash bar. It's a nice wind down tune from an album full of sounds that keep your synapses firing. You can download it for free here. Hope that you enjoy it! - Q.D. Tran - website