Demo2DeRo: El Segundo

Formerly the Box Bruisers, El Segundo now boasts a new and cooler name (as in "I Left My Wallet in ... ") to go along with the new and cooler lineup. Guitarist Rich Hay, vocalist Brandon Salmans, bassist Kevin Lopez and drummer Chuck McAuliffe play a ferocious but tuneful brand of old-school punk with equal measures of garage drive and metallic edge. It's a familiar sound, of course, but in addition to the accomplished musicianship and a strong ear for melody amid the din, El Segundo rises above the pack courtesy of Salmans, a pudgy, balding, funny and self-effacing front man who brings heaping doses of unique personality to the proceedings, onstage as well as on the raucous sampling of tunes posted on the group's Web site, myspace.com/elsegundochicago.

Jim DeRogatis