Trapper John

Lock 1,000 nerdy monkeys with 1,000 nerdy-sounding keyboards in a room for 1,000 years and they still won't craft a nerdy anthem quite as good as Wastoid, the key track off Trapper John's West Coast Stereo.

It's the catchiest Cars song since Just What I Needed, with loopy keyboards, pre-pubescent harmonies and a really goofy guitar solo.

Instantly catchy, instantly memorable, instantly nerdy. - Rob Harvilla

Trapper John may have three self-releases under its collective belt, but it’s with its new CD-R EP, All Night, the release of which this show celebrates, that the band has come into its own. Singer John Bobo’s voice has a strength and resolve not found on the band’s other recordings, while his songwriting has improved dramatically as well. Add in improved chops and Jon Chinn’s production skills bolstering the whole affair, and it’s no overstatement to say the band has nailed down the sound that has heretofore escaped it to varying degrees.

The disc is kicked off with a pair of pop gems. On “Try to Say (the Right Thing)” and “Thousand Miles Away,” Trapper John combines big hooks with inspired melodies (I’m reminded of Teenage Fanclub and Nada Surf, both of whom work a similar combination to the same great effect), offset by a certain melancholy that lends the songs emotional weight. All Night is a great record deserving of a proper release, which it will get after the band fleshes it out to a full-length, but for now the CD-R will more than suffice.

Two more of Columbus’ brightest talents, Tiara and Mrs. Children, share the bill.

—Stephen Slaybaugh - Stephen Slaybaugh