Montauk

Local music buyers have a rough decision Friday. In addition to the release party for the new Druggist album (see review, page 42), SA/Austin pop-rockers Montauk will release their debut album at Sam’s Burger Joint. Montauk matches guitarist-keyboardist-programmer Jason Ybarbo’s emotive tenor with New Wave synth lines and Robert Cherry’s stuttering lead guitar flourishes. “Invisible” finds true sentiment in Clay Aiken territory, while (mostly) rapture-free “Left Behind” takes a page from the fakebook of Death Cab for Cutie 2.0 – chiming keyboards complementing romantic sensitive-man lyrics with a sweeping large-scale chorus. But it’s not all cuddling soundtracks. “In Love and War” opens with unsettling horror-film keys before Ybarbo wishes ill on a past love: “When you think of me I hope you choke, and when you breathe your lungs fill with smoke.” Easy there. As any firefighter will tell you, smoke inhalation’s serious business, mister. Locals Pop Pistol, Altus, and Our Sleeping Giant are scheduled to open. $6/$8, all ages, 8 p.m. Friday, January 16, Sam’s Burger Joint, 330 E Grayson St., (210) 223-2830, samsburgerjoint.com.

(Jeremy Martin) - San Antonio Current