The Makes Nice

8 p.m. Thursday, October 4. The Bluebird, 2706 Olive Street.

Oct 3, 2007 at 4:00 am

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San Francisco, California's The Makes Nice features Josh Smith, a founding member and ex-guitarist of instrumental metal act the Fucking Champs. But Smith's power-pop trio has far more in common with the Yardbirds than, say, Yakuza. A throwback to '60s acts such as the Shragri-Las, the band's upcoming album This Time Tomorrow evokes the past without sounding overly nostalgic or forced — despite the fact that tracks such as "Do It Again" and "Her Personal Vendetta" sound authentic enough to be included on the next Nuggets compilation. However, don't let the close-cropped hair and matching suits fool you: Beneath its pop sheen, The Makes Nice is crafting rock music that's so soulful, it's downright dirty — in an Elvis-on-Ed-Sullivan kind of way. Not bad for a dude who also plays in a band called Drunk Horse, huh?