Soundcheck ventured with a degree of trepidation to the Summit Saloon loft this past week to check out Tweak Bird, a quietly buzzed about duo that blew into town last Tuesday as part of the Volcom tour. (It has something to do with snowboarding, we gather.)

For our efforts we were treated to a roughly half hour set of sonic awesomeness that channeled Geezer Butler through a pair of waifish riffers who hammered away on Sabbath-inspired hooks while producing vocal harmonies (If you can call them that) worthy of the name Tweak Bird. Like a middle-aged John cruising the streets of their hometown Los Angeles, the Tweakers didn't go in for a lot of talking. They went about their business before a somewhat puzzled, but not totally sedate crowd of beanie-wearing Dude Bros who despite their own penchant for conformance seemed to appreciate the Tweakers' sonic singularity. Oh yeah, Kandi Coded played, too.

The Gourds

Haymaker!

Yep Roc Records

Turning on a Gourds record is like walking into a best friend's house. You feel immediately comfortable, welcome and full of smiles. Haymaker!, released last month features tracks like "Country Gal" and "Shreveport" that are genuine toe tappers and seem to invite you in to listen again and again. The upbeat "The Way You Can Get" attacks the hips and forces them to move. "Hey Thurman" takes another path almost jam band-esque, wandering in a slower sway with some mellow hum-along vocals. However, one of the best characteristics of this disc is that it's ready to be your solid-rocking road trip soundtrack.

The Austin-based Gourds have developed well since their inception in 1994, just as the alternative country movement was gaining steam. From their earlier, rather kitschy years to their current sound that dashes some honky-tonk into the blender as evidenced by the track, "Tex-Mex Mile," Haymaker! shows a funnier and rowdier side of the band over their last effort, Noble Creatures, which felt much more polished and serious.

Most importantly, when it comes to The Gourds, it's all about their memorable live show. This dynamic band lives to entertain and their Central Oregon shows through the years have been certifiable barnburners. So, the goal here is to bone up for the next tour. Go pick up Haymaker and burn the songs into your mind so you can shout 'em out while you dance at the next show. You'll be glad you did.

Bon Iver

Blood Bank

Jagjaguwar

Where does Blood Bank fit with the frozen fog of For Emma, Forever Ago, Bon Iver's much-acclaimed debut from last winter? It isn't an afterthought, or an echo, or B-sides, though some of the songs were recorded around the same time as For Emma in a little cabin in Wisconsin during the good winter (French translation: Bon Hiver) after which the band is named. It has similarities to the experimental, beautiful mess that Justin Vernon captured in his wooded solitude, but Blood Bank also feels like a series of postcards - letting us know that the singer is traveling on, his heartbreak perhaps slightly dulled.

Ryan Adams and the Cardinals

Cardinology

Lost Highway Records

At 34 years old, Ryan Adams has achieved a good deal as a musician. From punk roots in a hot North Carolina music scene in the early '90's, he grew into an alt-country songwriter as a founding member of the renowned underground country band Whiskeytown. After just a few critically acclaimed albums (which effectively always means that people who listen to music for a living loved 'em, but the rest of the world didn't really much notice), Whiskeytown ran its course.

Now, ten solo records in, Adams releases Cardinology a wandering quiet record that nods toward his past work. While it evokes a touch of Neil Young, the Dead and Gram Parsons, there is something missing in this release that keeps it from being a tribute to the rambling dusty legacy of something like The Flying Burrito Brothers. Cardinology is more likely to be heard on local adult radio than in a Volkswagen van: think of John Mayer or Jackie Greene, not Nick Drake.

There is cleanness to this release. Many songs flow in a march of predictability and some are unfortunately pretty forgettable. Lyrics like "So turn the radio up loud and get down/let your body move" are either supposed to be incredibly ironic or so cliché that you think they were written by Kool and the Gang. However, some tracks like "Go Easy," "Sink Ships" and "Cobwebs" are iPod worthy and may get you singing along a bit.

"Stop" is a strong and dramatic ballad reflecting on his challenges with drugs. Adams uses the piano to play off a somber story that is very relatable. His struggle with drugs has caused him problems over the years. He now seems to have reconciled issues with himself and lays it all out for us to judge. He seems venerable as he sings: "I know a past where the future is lost." The record ends with thought-provoking questions that leave you empathic, but also happy that you were able to bear witness.

It was a call and response of the strangest and most hilarious sorts as Mosley Wotta, wearing some sort of lioness headdress bounced atop the Old Stone Church stage yelling "I love myself! I love myself!"

And people, all of whom apparently love themselves, shouted back as Wotta fired off a long line of chants as the members of El Dante jammed on behind him. Soon, he began chanting "2-0-0-9, 2-0-0-9" and soon enough it was in fact, Two oh, oh Nine and the band played on. And so was the scene at the Source Weekly's Wig Out party at the Old Stone. Earlier in the night, Wotta and collaborator Mud were on stage playing their tasty brand of eclectically influenced hip-hop and dishing tracks from Wotta's Scrap Mettle EP and beyond to a wigged audience that was all but licking the floor for more tastes of Wotta.