Sumack

The short-lived Los Angeles quintet Sumack never got past the well-deserved comparisons to Beck's Mellow Gold-through-Odelay period that tended to show up in reviews of their two albums. That said, their blend of alternative rock, folk-pop, '70s-style new wave, hip-hop, and electronica is usually entertaining and occasionally terrific. Formed in Los Angeles in 1997, Sumack consisted of singer/songwriters Mark McAdam and Daniel Bernath, who also handle guitar and bass respectively; singer/percussionist Kit Pongetti; keyboardist Rod Sherwood; and drummer Pete McNeal. Their first album, LP1: This Is Junk Rock, came out on the local indie Tainted Records in 1999. It was enough to get them signed to V2 Records, which released Now Hear This in March 2000. (About one-third of LP1: This Is Junk Rock appears on Now Hear This in slightly remixed form.) The album got fair reviews, but didn't sell, and V2 dropped the group before the year was out, resulting in Sumack's break up in late 2000. ~ Stewart Mason