Romeo Harp
Theatrix
(Nu-Mogul)

For a guy who's pictured in a pretty dandy outfit on his album cover, and calls his full-length Theatrix, Romeo Harp goes pretty hard. This one starts aggressive, with a few upbeat, angry tracks, then settles into a sex-jam vibe for a bit. Harp is a decent rapper, but definitely an above-average singer. He even gets pretty jazzy on the track "Temperature." This might not be a cohesive project, but it's a good sample of all that Harp can do, which is plenty.

Losers After Midnight
Monsters, Axes & Choppers
(Self-released)

Surf-inspired rock from something of a supergroup: Joe Brady of old Central Pa. punks Scanner, George Borden of metal band Aftershok and "Memphis Mike" Metzger. Tunes like "Axe Murderer" and "Nightstalker Twist" are ready for Halloween; the whole thing is a fun set of old-style rock mixed with old-school punk. Enjoyable!

The Hipsters
Finally Returning Home
(Self-released)

Straightforward rock from some Pittsburgh guys now living in disparate parts of the country. Some of the grooves are good, though often things are overly complicated by the tendency to want to cram too many syllables into a bar. Nothing amazing, but certainly nothing bad — just some decent songwriting and totally fair performance.