Visqueen

Sun., May 23, 8 p.m., $8, with Beretta 76, M Room, 15 W. Girard Ave., 215-739-5577, themanhattanroom.com.

by M.J. Fine

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Published: May 19, 2010

rock/pop

Losing Seattle's legendary Fastbacks would've been harder to take if Kim Warnick hadn't immediately found a worthy outlet for her pop-punk cred. Enter Rachel Flotard, a New Jersey native who was born a mere seven years before the Fastbacks formed. The powerhouse singer-guitarist and the veteran bassist seemed to be natural allies, and Visqueen's first two albums — 2003's King Me and 2004's Sunset on Dateland — were rich showcases for their high-energy partnership. Then Warnick retired, and that seemed to be it for the budding band. Of course, it wasn't; Flotard spent the intervening years tending to her father, and last fall's Message to Garcia serves as both a fine posthumous tribute to him and a rebirth for the band. "So Long" is as warm an elegy as you could ever hope for, but there's also primo shredding ("Ward"), hard-rock purr ("Forgive Me") and pedal-steel-toed alt-rawk ("Beautiful Amnesia"). Flotard had great teachers, but now she more than holds her own.

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