Amateurs sound anything but

[We'll play catch-up this week on album releases and reviews. We think ...]  

Amateurs, "Speak Easy" (self-released): L.A. quartet Amateurs can't quite decide what they want to be, except good. Their first album nods to classic rock, folky '70s radio fare, modern indie titans and maybe even prog rock band or two, if they used strings. Whether you hear a lot of Wilco or a little Fleetwood Mac, Fairport Convention or the Band, it's the emotional range that makes Amateurs' an impressive debut. Its melodic bounce, gorgeous wedding of harmonies with Shannon De Jong's strings and smartly spun vignettes by singer-guitarist Keith Waggoner give "Speak Easy" a warm, organic sheen. It's folk-rock that doesn't need to resort to gimmickry or conscious deconstruction.

||| See Amateurs tonight at their album release show at the Scene in Glendale.

Touts for Tuesday, May 29

It's an album release party for ex-Fur singer Holly Ramos tonight too -- an early show at the Hotel Cafe ... Toca celebrates its album release with a show at the Knitting Factory. ... Icelandic blues-country songstress Lay Low performs at the Silverlake Lounge. ... And that's in case you're missing the bigger shows, the Arcade Fire at the Greek and Voxtrot at the El Rey Theatre.