All the Way Rider

Spending a good deal of 2007 recording The Eagle's Revenge, an expansive and melodic full-length that takes wing tonight at the Triple Rock, and paring their lineup from a quartet to a trio in March 2008, local rock solids All the Way Rider have had a big year. Composed of track after track of pounding and organic rock, tonight's release breathes like an iron lung. Singer and guitarist Jeremy Jessen punctuates the songs with a plaintive top register wail that reaches without overreaching, and the band's songwriting is equally comfortable with melody and anti-melody, exhibited by Eagle's penchant for grinding into jagged edges at a moment's notice. They never stay in the pungi pit too long to endanger their pop listenability, but All the Way Rider's sense of adventure gives their new songs the dimension they need to cast a good shadow. With Sunday Flood, Redoverlunar, and Torch the Spires. 21+.
Fri., May 2, 9 p.m., 2008