Secure Sounds a bit unsteady

Secure Sounds, a band out of Sacramento, reminds me of The Sugarcubes. The Sugarcubes were the Icelandic band that helped give Bjork her start. If you will remember, The Sugarcubes had this hang-up that was embarrassing enough that maybe you didn't play their music in front of friends. The name of that hang-up was Einar Örn Benediktsson. Some have said Benediktsson dragged the band down with his rant-like singing. But I say because of Benediktsson, The Sugarcubes retained an underground sense of cool, never getting too wildly popular. Secure Sounds may have a similar destiny. The Sugarcubes' Benediktsson can be compaired to the raw vocals of Secure Sounds. They are unsteady and a bit off tune. The rough vocals, giving them a signature different from ordinary rock bands, are stirred with a poppy baseline, catchy lead guitar and snare drum. And being unrefined isn't necessarily bad. This garage band could be on the edges of the sweet spot of the underground music world. But then, they don't have Bjork. Secure Sounds will be performing at The Boardwalk, 9426 Greenback Lane in Orangevale March 29. Tickets are $10 advance. For information on the show, see www.boardwalkrocks.com or call (916) 988-9247. For information on Secure Sounds check out: myspace.com/securesounds. Contact Julie Miller to have your band's CD reviewed. Her e-mail address is juliem@goldcountrymedia.com.