Music columnists and critics write a lot of crazy shit. It can be hard to pump out quality copy on a regular basis, and sometimes the pressure gets the best of those whose job it is to do just that. Sometimes music critics write things that are just plain nuts.



This was my reaction when I read about Seattle’s Denelian, who will play Bob’s Java Jive Saturday, June 7, in Independent Clauses — a monthly online music magazine based out of Oklahoma. 



“Denelian is releasing maybe the best sound to come out of Seattle since Nirvana,” wrote Marilyse Diaz in December of ’07.



Come on now. Seriously? Someone please tell me where Independent Clauses gets their drugs, because I want some.



That’s not to suggest Denelian isn’t worth praising. The constantly evolving ’80s synth happy punk band is doing a lot of things right. Their sound is contagious. Their just released Gossip With the Devil EP shows a promise few local bands can match. These kids know how to string a pop song together, and since their start in 2005 they’ve only been getting better at it.

But Nirvana? That’s just silly. Denelian realizes the absurdity.



“It’s nice to get positive feedback but that was the funniest thing I’ve ever read,” says Denelian’s Brian Jackson. “Totally nuts!”



“I think that person probably had a few too many candy bars the morning they listened to that EP,” adds Kelly Dale.



Saturday’s show at Bob’s Java Jive will be one of Denelian’s first in Tacoma, and it’s an experience they’re looking forward to. It will also mark one of the first shows the band plays without longtime keyboardist Nicole Yoshioka, who recently played her last show with the band.



“Our show in Eugene last weekend was Nic’s last. We love playing and doing what we’re doing so we’re going to push through without her,” says Jackson. “She will be missed.”



“Any venue with the word ‘Jive’ in the title has got to be shit,” says Dale of Bob’s.



Denelian will play Bob’s Java Jive this Saturday. The band’s bouncy dance punk is nothing like Nirvana, but still. It’s pretty damn good.



[Bob’s Java Jive, Denelian, New Faces, Chores, Darren Selector, Saturday, June 7, 8 p.m., $5, 2102 S. Tacoma Way, Tacoma, www.myspace.com/bobsjavajive]