Here's a couple of tracks from The Joggers, who come to town in April with Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks. They're a four-piece from Portland who came together in 2001, releasing two acclaimed albums and an EP in that time. Joggers are Darrell Bourque (vocals/bass), Murphy Kasiewicz (vocals/guitar), Jake Morris (drums), and Ben Whitesides (guitar/vocals).

Their sound combines pop with elements of classic rock, math rock, indie rock, maybe even just a touch of garage/punk rock. What do all of those elements have in common? You guessed it, rock. Joggers do lots of angular, quirky guitar interplay that is surrounded by intricate drum parts and three-to-four part harmonies, as all members sing parts at various times. They only have three guitars, but at times it can sound more like five or six.

"Their sharply hooky guitars, moody-yet-bouncy melodies, and shouty, slightly nasal vocals recall both the French Kicks and, especially, the Walkmen." -eMusic

"It's a huge, exhilarated mess, a clash of sounds, starts, and stops that's nearly impossible to chart; traditional notions of synchronicity aren't relevant, and nobody's doing the same thing at the same time. They might be necessarily complex, but the Joggers' compositions aren't sloppy, impenetrable, or gratuitously harried-- it's just rich, purposefully disjointed fun, entirely cringe-less and consistently surprising. All without the matching vests." -Pitchfork

Here's two from a tour-only cd they had with 'em, plus two from their debut.

• The Joggers - "Talking at Keith"
  
• The Joggers - "Long Distance Runaround"
  

via Solid Guild

• The Joggers - "Neon Undercarraige"
  
• The Joggers - "I'm Not Convinced"

• myspace.com/thejoggers