Dearly Beloved

Former Change of Heart members Rob Higgins and Damon Richardson reunite in Dearly Beloved, a five-piece rock outfit whose debut album pairs jagged, chug-chug riffs with male/female call-back vocals that at first feel derivative but eventually take hold after repeated listenings. Dearly Beloved can ably kick out the jams -- see Queens of the Stone Age-styled highlights "The Ride" and "Manifesto" -- or turn the tables without warning for pretty, melancholy ditties like "The Butler Routine" and "Noise Submitted to Order." Higgins also injects a welcome sense of humour with "Queen St. vs Park Ave.," where Toronto's hippest drag is pitted against NYC's trendy thoroughfare.