Pretty Girls Make Graves

If Pretty Girls Make Graves were just a little bit more popular, the group would be at the forefront of "Seattle revival" hype, and frontwoman Andrea Zollo would be shoehorned between Shakira and Vanessa Carlton on Rolling Stone's umpteenth Women in Rock cover. But like Murder City Devils, from which it pulled bassist Derek Fudesco, PGMG has set up camp in the buffer zone between cult status and mainstream recognition. "Speakers Push the Air," an aggressively anthemic music-as-savior testimonial from its 2002 debut disc, Good Health, earned the quintet a healthy dose of M2 exposure, and its live shows, all flailing limbs and rhythmic rumbles, have inspired comparisons to the almost-big implosion casualty At the Drive-In. Unlike that contrarian outfit, which rejected success like a transplanted baboon heart, PGMG seems stable enough to handle the ride if any tracks from its fall release, New Romance, tickle the fickle public's fancy. In the meantime, fans should experience the group small-club-style before it graduates to more voluminous venues.