The Bellrays

The press kit for sterling soul band The Bellrays says listening to the group is like "getting kicked in the balls by James Brown." Ow! That doesn't feel good. One critic described the band as "Tina Turner fronting The Ramones," which is not so much like a scrotum dispatch as it is a solid ear-boxing. Either way, the Riverside, California, quartet has earned its place alongside fellow unique musical hybrid acts, such as Nashville Pussy. Still, The Bell rays find comparisons to other groups a cop-out, because their influences range from Black Sabbath and The Who to Nina Simone. The Bellrays can play -- and play loud. Singer Lisa Kekaula tears through the band's songs with full-throated fury, making for one of indie music's only real diva shows. Watts and the notoriously noisy Electrophonic Foundation fill out the bill.