The OffRamps

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music a little difficult to categorize. The OffRamps, aptly named, occupy some sort of musical middle ground. As their lead singer told me after their short and energetic set, "We're a little too accessible for the punk crowd, and a little too punk for the alt-rock crowd." Somewhere between the mainstream and the back roads, the OffRamps are most easily aligned with American underground bands like Hsker D and Dinosaur Jr. But whatever genre they call home, these three men — lead singer and songwriter Jeremy Porter, bassist Jason Bowes, and drummer Mike Popovich — deliver consistent rock 'n' roll.

The song I'd been singing — "Hallmark Holiday" — fits their genre ambiguity. When I took the time to listen to their last album, Hate It When You're Right, I found that what I had thought was upbeat breakup music had some disturbing strains of stalker pop: the lyrics mention having an ex-girlfriend's phone bugged and dressing up like a clown to scare her. I thought about Elaine's unfortunate encounter with a stalker clown on Seinfeld — a comparison that fit not only the lyrics but also, at least slightly, the mood of the song. Although the words were mildly alarming (especially after all of my head-bobbing and singing along), the tongue-in-cheek use of the hook-dependent pop formula saved the song from creepiness, and the lyrics steered it clear of the self-deprecating emo ballads that are so popular with kids these days.