Here's a nice surprise from out of left field. Wheat's coming in straight out of Chi-town with a bouquet of emo-core. Now, I'll be honest with you -- this disc took awhile to like. All the songs have little or no variation in their melancholy, plodding tempo. The lead singer, at times, almost sounds like the love child of Wayne Coyne and Michael Hutchence. But there's something there, if you dig in deeper. It's the little touches. The way the bass drops into "Leslie West." The echoey organ that runs throughout "Death Car." The dreamy guitar solo that ends the seven-minute, almost perfect "Summer." The yearning vocals and just right production. I hope they'll try out some new tempos in the future, but their sad stash of stoner heartstrings will do for now.

-Jason Josephes