Critic's Choice

Reno Divorce (due at the Starlight Lounge in Fort Collins on Friday, January 7, and Whiskey Bill's on Saturday, January 8) wears its punk 'n' roll influences on its tattooed sleeves. Fans of TSOL and Dag Nasty love Reno's smart, swaggering take on bar-room punk, but the real elephant in the room is pre-rehab Social Distortion. You can almost hear the echoes of Mike Ness's jailhouse-rock vocals and rough-and-sleazy fretwork on the act's 2004 EP, Laugh Now Cry Later. But this is no tribute band. With blistering, reckless live sets and passionate recordings, the Divorc's have received rave reviews from Kerrang!, Maximum Rock 'N' Roll and Punk Planet,among others. A recent European tour was cut short when frontman Brent Loveday was laid low by kidney stones, but those, too, have passed. The group kicks off the new year with a triumphant return to Colorado and the promise of a major breakthrough in 2005.