Critic’s Choice

Idaho is best known for two things: potatoes and militias. Caustic Resin, with Rainbow Sugar, Monday, November 20, at the Lions Lair, doesnt have a lot in common with either of those, but its still a worthwhile addition to the states export list. Though the band hails from the same Boise scene that spawned grunge-rockers Tad and indie superstars Built to Spill, Caustic Resin is more avant garde than the average Northwestern act. With a decidedly menacing sound, the Resin mixes heartily distorted, jagged-edged guitars with cyclical space-rock arrangements. The result is an aggressive snarl of a sound that achieves the off-balance quirkiness of more experimental acts. Ever flexible, the band shows it can throw up a wall of blurry, over-amplified guitar in songs like “Chainsaw,” while “Cocktails!” strikes up a psychedelic and psychotic mutation of white-boy funk. While some of the Caustic catalogue borders on eccentric, the band manages to keep its more abrasive numbers from sinking into excess. Mondays show will definitely not be a quiet evening out, as Caustic Resin promises some freakish — and loud — rock and roll.