September 2- 8, 2004

musicpicks

The Like

Rock/pop The ladies of The Like have been together for three years, and all they have to show for themselves is three self-released EPs and a spot on the Thirteen soundtrack. Good excuse, though: The Los Angeles trio wanted to finish high school before committing to a full-length. Not that Z Berg seems to be in any hurry. As a lyricist, she keeps returning to the waiting room; "Falling Away" and "(So I'll Sit Here) Waiting" both feature a girl holding out for an antihero. And just when Tennessee Thomas tries to move things along with a poppy beat, Berg seems to strum a little slower, stretch her phrases more than logic might suggest. Rather than come off as disjointed, that only makes wistful tunes even more so. But it's the more complicated songs — musically and emotionally — that stand out. "What I Say and What I Mean" twists on the gap between getting away from someone and getting over him, while "27 Days" bests itself when bassist Charlotte Froom's girlish voice shifts from a shadow of Berg's throaty supplication into a strong-willed counterpoint. Based on the evidence, that full-length — whenever The Like gets around to it — will be worth the wait.

Sat., Sept. 4, 8 p.m., $15, with Phantom Planet and Pepper's Ghost, Merion Green, Bryn Mawr College, 101 N. Merion Ave., Bryn Mawr, 866-468-3401.

—M.J. Fine