Fear the State, Against the Ropes (fearthestate.com).

With the volume of ’90s alt rock-sounding local records that get sent to the Advocate, you’d think there must be a massive underground club somewhere in town filled with crowd-surfing guys with soul patches and Godsmack tattoos. Fear the State would fit in well at this club, and they’d be well-liked, because they’re good at what they do. The vocals are cleanly sung in a higher register, evoking memories of Soundgarden at times. Singer Marc Amendola doesn’t sound like Chris Cornell per se, but you can file the two bands in the same compartment of your brain. The recordings don’t do the performances justice — the guitars are thin-sounding and the low end is somewhat absent. With beefy music like this you’d prefer the subwoofers to knock the wind out of you in a chunky, in-your-face mess. The first five tracks are all in the same key, too, something that makes the record feel same-y from one track to the next. “I need to be criticized and never be offended,” sings Amendola in “Live Again.” I hope so.

—Mike Sembos

Fear the State plays Oct. 9 at Cafe Nine with Fallen Quarter, Seafire and Shawn Levesque.

Heather Fay, Scrape Knee’d Girl (Dirt Floor Records).

Singer-songwriter Fay delivers a modestly tuneful, smartly-arranged and heartfelt set of 10 songs here. The modesty in question isn’t a comment on her talent — she possesses a strong, clear voice, and can use it to convey a broad range of emotions; and her songs themselves, which fit into the rootsier end of the pop-rock spectrum, are melodically graceful (the middle section of the album is particularly confident and hooky) but her delivery feels subtle and somehow private. Eric Lichter’s analog production gives the songs warmth, and his multi-instrumental contributions create an ebb and flow with plenty of ear-catching passages. Not only is there more going on here than one might first notice, the songs are concise in their composition, even the slower ballads (and the set does tip towards mellow, steady-tempoed songs). One wishes she showed off more, or made all the choruses pop out the way she can. But the private-feeling approach still suits Fay’s direct lyrics and melodies.

—Brian LaRue

Heather Fay plays Oct. 10 at Clinton’s Black Sheep Ranch with Peter Lucibelli and Mark Douglas Berardo.