Ben Allen, music editor

This weekend the Alibi will host Splinter Cell, a fun new rock band comprised of local scene veterans. James Forbes plays bass and sings and was formerly in the glam-pop group Buffy Swayze as well as Arrogant Hare and Crutch. Jeff Langdon on drums was guitarist in the legendary "hillbilly metal" outfit The Hitch. Rounding out the trio is Sean Ennis on guitar and vocals.

The guys have been playing music together for about three years. First there was Henpecker, an irreverent George W. protest band which was followed by the short-lived Artifacts of Pleasure. Splinter Cell appears to be a project taken slightly more seriously by the group.

All three of the members contribute to the songwriting, creating a diverse set of songs. There's hints of hard rock and metal, but the sound stays grounded with simple pop structures and straight forward, but effective drumming. Their track "Vampires" features a guitar hook with controversial but equally hilarious lyrics like, "The religious right is one big fucking party/I can't join 'cause aint got any money!" The next line, "the flaming cunt of the Christ" is sung in harmony and is instantly catchy, regardless of the controversial nature of the lyric.

See Splinter Cell play the Alibi Saturday, September 3rd with The Connies. Doors are at 10:30, Music begins at 11:15. The cover is $5