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"Triggers and Trash Heaps" form Centro-Matic's "Fort Recovery"

That Denton, Texas-based quartet Centro-matic is one of America’s most unsung and all-too-long bubbling-under bands goes without saying. But could now be their time? With the rock world bowing a unison hosanna to Jeff Tweedy and Wilco, and the ascendant rise of heartfelt, slightly abstracted pop acts like the Shins, Death Cab and My Morning Jacket, and askew folk from Sufjan Stevens and Iron and Wine, why now not Centro-matic? This could be the year that Neil Young wises up and gets the band out in front of him warming up for Crazy Horse. Or maybe some big-name producer wises up and realizes that “Love Has Found Me” could be covered by some boringly manicured artist of the moment and dent the Top 40. Barring any of that, however, a listen or 20 to their 10th full-length album, Fort Recovery, ought to be enough to demonstrate that there is no better time than now for this band. Beginning as an additional songwriting outlet for singer/guitarist Will Johnson a decade ago, Centro-matic has outgrown their early influences (Guided By Voices, Dinosaur Jr, Flaming Lips) to dwell in a territory all their own, while managing an additional offshoot band—the dreamtime sprawl sounds of the magnificent South San Gabriel. Opening Fort Recovery with “Covered up in Mines,” a previously rare track found only on an obscure Texas music collection, Centro launches into some emotionally drenched space “from the roadways to the drunk tank,” where sliding guitar lines, stretched feedback and sparse drums make way for Johnson’s provoking story pallet. In every review like this it is invariably the singer/songwriter who gets pulled into the front and center of the picture. That’s who’s leading the show. With distorted guitars, warm and fuzzed, matched by a voice exuding the same warmth, the same fuzz, and words pressed in wry, yonder-gazing lyricism, it is hard not to key on Johnson. What makes Centro-matic special, however, is each individual member’s power. Bassist Mark Hedman’s sprightly touches lock perfectly to drummer Matt Pence’s beat, and the pair ably sway from loose and laid-out rhythms to precision timing. Pence is additionally responsible for the crystalline sound on glorius analog tape, recording and engineering at his Echoplex Studios. The linchpin of it all is Scott Danbom, who, like a modern-day Richard Manuel, brings soaring falsetto harmonies, elegantly plinked keys and the occasional violin to make the ultimately resonating final touches on the band’s sound. Nowhere is this better displayed than on the utterly perfect construction “Patience for the Ride.” The aching “For New Starts” rides away like an indie version of the Allmans, while “Triggers and Trash Heaps” haunts with a beautifully executed chorus. Just when you think Centro-matic has hit their 2006 stride, you better hold your horses: They are planning another album before the year’s throug. A double vinyl edition of Fort Recovery is also available and includes three tracks not on the CD: “Bucketful of Nails,” “Not Like Anyone Would Mind” and “Gunmetal and Engines.”

Centro-matic plays the Buffalo Icon, 391 Ellicott St. (842-0167), tonight (April 6) with Great Lakes Swimmers, the Old Sweethearts and Heaven and Hell Cotillion. Doors open at 8pm. $8 presale, $10 at the door.