A couple people have pointed out that the bass player in Techlepathy whose name I didn't know (see yesterday's blog entry) was none other than John Kestner, a former member of Sound of Rails and Fullblown along with drummer Eric Ernst (though Kestner played guitar in those bands). In fact, it was Mike Tulis, also a former member of Fullblown, who told me Saturday night who Ernst was. I should have asked about Kestner. And that's more information than you ever wanted to know. Go see Techlepathy Friday.

Tonight at The Slowdown it's the Omaha debut of Saddle Creek Record's most recent signing, Land of Talk. Their new album, Some Are Lakes, is a shimmery, mid-tempo indie rock collection that feels influenced by '70s-era Fleetwood Mac thanks to its rock-solid well-grounded rhythm section. That said, frontwoman Elizabeth Powell sounds more like one of the Azure Ray women or Carol van Dyk (Bettie Serveert) than Stevie or Christine. It's pleasant-going until "Give Me Back My Heart Attack" breaks through the monotony, only to shift back into mid-tempo gear with "It's Okay," a song whose bass-drum combination makes it the perfect prom dance ballad (think Foreigner or Journey, I'm not entirely kidding). There is a distinctively middle-of-the-road quality to Land of Talk. I'm told they caught the attention of Creek-folk after making a big splash at SXSW two years ago. As one person who was there told me, "You couldn't go anywhere in Austin without hearing something about Land of Talk." Will the hype continue? Well, Pitchfork gave Some Are Lakes a 6.9 (just a tenth of a point away from breaking through that 7.0 glass ceiling that holds back most Creek artists). I like the album, though I don't think Land of Talk will get to the same level as Creek's big swingers (Tokyo Police Club, on the other hand, probably will).

Land of Talk is opening tonight for Canadian supergroup Broken Social Scene, who played a secret show here almost a year ago. Wonder who will be playing with Drew and Canning in this version. Tickets are still available for $20. Show starts at 9.

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