Editors' Picks: Restorations

Brian: Restorations feature three-fifths of gruff, quirky post-hardcore revivalists Jena Berlin. While similarities between the two are present enough to bridge the gap for JB fans, there are plenty of atmospheric flourishes and a wonderful restraint to Restorations' procedure to sensibly warrant them being their own truly unique and self-standing project. You can hear hints of admitted influences like Lucero and the Weakerthans in there, but there's a surprising sparkle in the guitars that reaches far past any home/prarie-land punk acts. I like to think of them as what might've happened if Polar Bear Club took it in another whole direction after their demo release (that just woke mikexdude up from his Sunday nap).

I probably should have featured them a long time ago, but something recently jogged my memory and I noticed they finally had legitimate songs on their MySpace page after a long period of only providing live YouTube videos. They've been active for over a year, but no real demo or release has seemed to surface; here's to hoping they get their asses in gear while JB continues resting.