Coffinberry

It's been a long road for Coffinberry, but here it is, and it was worth the wait. If Cleveland produces a better indie-rock release this year, expect record companies to start camping out at the Beachland. The band created one of the city's loudest buzzes in 2002 and 2003, before a lineup featuring current New Lou Reeds frontman Stephe DK shattered, taking a poppy, in-progress EP into oblivion with it. The timing may work in the group's favor; now the city is primed for the group, and Coffinberry sounds ready for the world.

Like Interpol after an espresso bong, the guitar-driven From Now on Now jangles, rattles, and rocks. Frontman-guitarist Nicholas Cross warbles and wails infectiously, just out of harmony with guitarist Tony Janicek's gentle discord. As contemporary as it sounds, the EP has a timeless quality. "Eva" is the edgy kind of post-new wave that modern-rock radio played when "modern rock" referred to artsy pop like Sonic Youth and Grant Lee Buffalo. Flat-out ecstatic, songs like album closer "Seven Months Gone By" should bring back Coffinberry's buzz louder than ever.