The Rubber Room column is a weekly look at recent and notable releases that don’t fall into the rubric of traditional reviews or reviewed material—namely 7”’s, 12”’s, 3” CDs, EPs, cassette-only, DVDs and MP3-only releases.

Grandaddy
Excerpts From The Diary Of Todd Zilla
[V2, 2005]

Grandaddy's last album, Sumday, had gorgeous melodies and sonics, but kept that mellow burn that so often drew critics to overuse the term "druggy." On this new EP, that California rock vibe hasn't exactly dissipated, but the band has turned its attention to the second part of the term. Opener "Pull the Curtains" negates the light of Sumday's "Now It's On" and brings an element of cock-rock to the group's pop aesthetic [note to Burger King: your Coq Roq sucks, get off my tv and out of my strip mall]. Much of the rest of the album meanders lovely, but "Florida" comes back with some punch and a surprisingly danceable groove. "Goodbye?" closes with a mostly-acoustic, bedtime question, but I answer with a wide-awake "No."
[Justin Cober-Lake]

Wolf Parade
Wolf Parade EP
[Sub Pop, 2005]

Surprisingly muscular new EP from Montreal foursome Wolf Parade containing two tracks from their upcoming full-length and two songs appropriately cast off. Syrupy organs run all over the mix and the band sounds like a Nuggets treasure that’s been juicing. Lead single “Shine a Light” carries enough overt influences to drown any young band, but it’s still pretty great because despite lines like, “You know our hearts beat time out very slowly,” this band sounds fucking jacked. Singer Dan Boeckner mutters “I got a number,” on the churning “You are a Runner, and I am my Father’s Son,” and he’s right: 247th generation indie pop-rock, but who’s counting?
[Andrew Gaerig]

The Research
I Love you but… / C’mon Chameleon (Double A Side release)
[At Large Recordings, 2005]

At last a follow up! I’ve been blasting their debut single (that dropped late last year and got a glowing report in this very column back in September) about once a week and treading the carpet bare waiting for the LP. Pop stomper “C’mon Chameleon” pumps along with organs, handclaps and pink and yellow Disney vocal harmonies like a camp Badly Drawn Boy. To give it its full title “I love you but I’m scared I’ll fuck it up” is the more reflective of the two and reveals more to the band with the assistance of Producer John (Tortoise) McEntire. I can’t imagine there being a better single this year.
[Scott McKeating]

Four Tet
Sun Drums and Soil 3” CD (Sa-ra Creative partners “On the Move” remix)
[Domino Records, 2005]

Up and coming production team Sa-ra takes Four Tet’s jazz influenced track and stretch in into a mini-mixtape classic. A sunny dispositioned buzzy disco bass shakes its way through this laidback comet from a much less ‘straight’ world of percussion and metrical explorations. Horns are bent, synthetic and oh so very camp steel drums are faked, a man with a deep voice says some odd stuff sexily and a Funk-Soul-Disco workout is undertaken keeping the song alive in spirit but moving it from the laptop to the dancefloor.
[Scott McKeating]