Much like their most beloved musical forebears, long-surviving hometown trio Outereach is hard to peg to one microgenre or scene. First on the list of influences on the group's MySpace page is The Police. It's instantly recognizable in frontman Joey Espinoza's clear, smooth tenor; in his snappy, repeatable refrains; and in the stylistic eclecticism traversed in any one of the band's songs. Also name-checked: Rush (see that tight, textured rhythm section), Peter Gabriel (a liberal dose of general spaciness), and a bunch of others including ... uh, Miami bass. Seriously, is there a local act these days that does not cite our beloved booty music as a sonic factor? Maybe that comes through in the network of fizzing, popping electronics anchoring the whole thing.
But seriously, Outereach is one of the few bands in town that can claim to sound like nobody else around. A song such as "Blues Planet" is all expansive power pop. "Patiently" is a funky jam that would please fans of Sting, v 1.0. And "The District Song" is a New Wavey ambush that wouldn't sound out of place on an indie-type dance floor. All of this, as well as their workmanlike dedication to happily sharing any bill has put them in front of a vastly varied audience at nearly every venue in the game. This Friday sees the band at Coconut Grove's Flavour, where the members celebrate the release of their latest EP, Music for Modern Living. Need more convincing? Visit the band's MySpace page (www.myspace.com/outereach), where the record is available for free download.
