There’s no bio or background information on the Starpolish page of Philadelphia’s Sweet Medicine, just one lonely tune: the demo-quality, perfunctory road-rock jam, “Mad World.” The bare melodic essence and vocal harmonies of “Mad World” remind me just a little of a no-frills gem like Buffalo Springfield’s “Sit Down, I Think I Love You.” At the same time, gritty lead vocals and southern-tinged guitar jams make this the kind of song that would probably inspire me to get up and dance if I heard the band playing in some country/ western bar and I’d had a few beers. On the downside, the drums sound like tin cans and, despite its kick-out-the jams rebellious spark, “Mad World” is at best a deep-album cut on a disc that would likely fly below the commercial radar. I’d be interested in hearing a few more cuts on which production values have been bumped up a bit.

Yael Meyer is Chilean-born vocalist who cites an intriguing group of influences – Bjork, Beth Orton, Air, Anything But The Girl (I think she means ‘Everything’ but the Girl) – and actually creates music that lives up to that list. Call it “New Age Folk Space Rock” or whatever you like, Meyer’s truly unique sound is well represented here by two cohesive tracks that also manage to showcase this artist’s versatility. “The Beauty Of It All” recalls Bjork as much for Yael’s high vocal range as the song’s pristine mix. No kidding: the production is so clean you could eat off it. “Spread The Word” takes on the popular “chill jazz” genre with sublime results. File Under: Easy Listening.

New York City rockers Shiny Mama have been a staple on the downtown club scene for years. Why this band hasn’t managed to snag some kind of label deal remains a mystery to me, because they’re a wildly passionate, original and amazing rock band. 100% wall-to-wall Rock and Roll all the way, Shiny Mama’s secret weapon is its astounding lead singer/front woman, Yana Chupenko. One listen will tell you this woman has few equals. Yana’s vocals on “Honey Bear” sound like a hybrid of Debbie Harry meets Grace Slick, and her pipes on the rumbling metal cover of Rainbow’s “Long Live Rock ‘N’ Roll” put Ronny James Dio to shame. In a fair and just world, she’d be a superstar. Rock music may no longer be commercially viable in today’s pop marketplace, but it’s far from dead. I urge all rock s reading this to check out Shiny Mama on Starpolish and at Shinymama.net.

Okay, here’s something really stupid that every band can do if they want to avoid ever being found on Starpolish or in a search engine: put.a.period.between.each.word.of.your.band’s.name. I’m not sure what that’s about: it’s much less clever than they probably think and it just ends up being a contrived roadblock that doesn’t need to be there. Beyond that, In.spite.of are an average modern rock band copping licks and tricks from every MTV-worn band you can name – from Blink 182 and Good Charlotte to The Red Hot Chili Peppers and 311. You can’t pay me to listen to bands like this.