Sparrows

Unlike Nashville or Brooklyn, Dallas doesn't have a distinctive musical style. Breakout bands from the 214 are a mishmash of genres with little in common besides an area code. If the city were to have a trademark sound, however, it might be something like the Sparrows, who built their rep playing rock swagger shot through with punk, blues and pedal steel. It's Dallas, all right: a little bit country, a whole heap of snaggle-toothed rock and roll. This five-song EP is a preview of Snowflakes, the band's full-length follow-up to Rock n Roll Days, which has inexplicably been collecting dust on the shelf for months, perhaps waiting out front man Carter Albrecht's tour with Edie Brickell or the band's lineup changes (guitarist Danny Balis has left the band because of schedule demands but continues to play bass in sibling band Sorta). Regardless, EP opener "All My Dreams" is enough to leave fans demanding a release date. A swelling anthem of thundering drums and Albrecht's epic vocals, "All My Dreams" already has my vote for local song of the year. The rest of the EP never reaches those heights, but the selections are solid throughout--full of shining guitar work and stiff-arm salvos. Not always pretty, rarely sweet, but consistently interesting, which is what we want in a band--and a city--anyway.