Bear Claw ­ Find The Sun, CD

Bear Claw must be fans of the cause and effect theory. The three-piece, which features members from Chicago¹s Hello, Operator, builds each track's fever pitch from the restraint of the brooding lulls. Storms are replaced by calm, creating musical symmetry that¹s equal parts dissonant and melodic. Scott Picco hammers his tightly wound snare like he¹s playing an arpeggio instead of a simple rhythm, and the dueling bass guitars of Rich Fessler and Rob Raspolich (a duo whose call-and-response vocals are driven and primal) are so guttural and low-slung that they register below the radar, coming out of the same murky depths as their hometown predecessors The Jesus Lizard and Big Black. Which serves as an easy explanation for the appearance of the album¹s engineer, Steve Albini, who uses his trademark ear to capture the band¹s gratifyingly raw sound. Sickroom, PO Box 47830, Chicago, IL 60647, www.sickroomrecords.com - Carla Costa, Punk Planet (CC)