It happened so suddenly: Last Friday I went from confusing mentions of Love is All as just more Rapture talk to being convinced I was possibly hearing my next obsession. I spent most of the day listening repeatedly to "Make Out Fall Out Make Up" and "Talk Talk Talk Talk" (followed by a refresher spin of Life Without Buildings' Any other City, natch) preparing myself as best as I could for Love is All's performance at Don Hill's that night.

While Life Without Buildings is a primary inspiration, LiA are not hacks. The comparison goes only as far as some of the spoken/sung, repeat, repeat, repeat  vocals. Otherwise, LiA is as the NME put it, "like the members of Bikini Kill, Madness, Phil Spector's Wall of Sound, and Nation Of Ulysses got together on the Muppet Show and sang the best song ever written - backwards!"

LiA's sound is an interaction of surfing and sliding guitar riffs, precise dance-punk drumming, saxophone freak outs, and bubbly, chirping vocals . It's like The Concretes on speed or the Rapture fronted by Sue Tompkins. Their set was terse, a bit nervy at times, but full of energy and promise. A better measure of this tantalizing band's potential will be taken December 12, when What's Your Rupture release 9 Times The Same Song, LiA's debut album.

Asides:

- More on Don Hill's: As a venue for hosting buzz band showcases, Don Hill's is unquestionably less stressful than the Tribeca Grand. There's no snotty doorman, annoying and incomplete RSVP list, or overwhelming throng of look-at-me hipsters to deal with. I paid my $5 cover, drank some awful, cheap Sparks and enjoyed Justine D's DJ set while waiting for the Swedes to take the stage.

- The Earlies, the part Texan, part British, all psychedelic band, played their first U.S. show at Maxwell's last night. With a date at the Mercury Lounge on December 16, I decided to stay home and watch the Rome finale (I'm not regretting my choice; the last two episodes were amazing), but Heart on a Stick was there.

"Even when they aim at cacophony, the band never felt sloppy," Heart wrote. " Every song ended unfortunately, and abruptly, and some vocal harmonies were less than spot-on... but just about everything else - and there's a lot of else - was positively complementary." I've posted these before, but I'll do it again: download these Earlies tracks now "Morning Wonder" (MP3), "The Devil's Country" (MP3). The Earlies' debut album These Were the Earlies was among my 2004 favorites.

UPDATE: Chris correctly pointed out The Earlies have played once before in the U.S, at SXSW. He was also at the Maxwell's show and took some photos. Check them out here.