#hallogallo

Kai Slater of Lifeguards brings the 1960s 12-string jangle to Sharp Pins, conjuring the bittersweet baroque pop magic of icons like the Hollies, the Byrds and Tom Petty. The Chicagoan band, out of the thriving Hallogallo scene, puts its own stamp on spiky melancholic garage pop, letting the windmill chords rip and the choruses billow around dream-fuzzed “Every Time I Hear” and softening a fierce and fractious energy with falsetto on the fey stomping “Lorelei.” The band shows its softer side on folky rambles like “Chasing Stars,” where a diffident, British-inflected melody winds hazily through sharp-edged flurries of resonant guitar, but the best cuts here balance fluttering tuneful-ness with slashing, bashing rock and roll. Case in point, “If I Was Ever Lonely,” whose splintering baroque licks peel off from straight up four-four anthemry; the song is both delicate and body-thumping, melancholic and oddly triumphant.

My advice really depends on the species, and which species you may encounter depends on where you live. I can’t get too specific without that information, or without seeing the actual roaches you’re encountering in your house. There are some that prefer to live outside and will wander in accidentally on occasion - things like wood roaches. These are for the most part harmless, won’t infest your home or cause health issues, and can just be caught in a cup or whatever and put back outside. If you see just one roach very sporadically, it may be these.

But then there are the species that like to live in our homes and may breed prolifically and cause issues. These often would be the American cockroach, German cockroach, or Oriental cockroach. If you’re seeing multiple roaches per day or week, and especially multiple at a time near where food is kept, you might have an issue. Infestations are a health risk because roaches can carry pathogens that can make people sick, and you should definitely call a professional to assess your situation.

Hallogallo