Earl Greyhound may have the best combination of stage presence and performance of any band in NYC. Seriously, they're that good. The power trio, with Matt Whyte (guitar/vocals), Kamara Thomas (bass/vocals) and Ricc Sheridan (drums) powers through their songs with vigor and volume in a throwback to bands like Zeppelin and T.Rex.

As much as I dug Earl Greyhound the first couple of times I saw them play this year (with the Walk Ons opening at Mercury in January and at a Deli show at Asterix in May), not many of their songs stood out. In both of those sets, the performances were notable, but I didn't walk out humming any songs. Of course, the Asterix show was a veritable sonic assault from every angle.

But Saturday's CD release show at The Annex was a revelation. While some of the EG catalog is still searching for a hook, the band played a couple of stand out songs ("All Better Now," and "S.O.S.") After listening to Soft Targets a few times, there are enough hooks and style variations. In particular, "It's Over" and "Yeah I Love You" are lighter and poppier, but don't forget how to rock.

But, Earl Greyhound are just such great performers that they could play a set of only "Mary Had a Little Lamb" and it would still rock.

Earl Greyhound S.O.S. [Some Records]
Earl Greyhound [Myspace]

Sasha Frere-Jones, The New Yorker, Off to the Races: "Whether or not Earl Greyhound are the Next Big Thing is irrelevant—watching them will convince you that they are.

Kevin O'Donnell, The Village Voice: Hard Targets: The rockneck-inducing splendor of Earl Greyhound.