By Alex Felsinger

What happened to women in indie rock? The rocking influence of PJ Harvey and Sleater-Kinney seems to have all but vanished in the hands of indie-pop darlings like Au Revoir Simone or Camera Obscura. These and many other successful female-fronted indie bands in recent years follow the same formula of cute, poppy songs. A Belle and Sebastian influence permeates, while the Pixies inspiration is played down. Indie was once edgy, but now it's mostly serene.

But San Francisco has a hold-out: Finest Dearest has essentially ignored the current indie scene. Their new self-titled album on Bloodtown Records could easily fit among discs by the powerful women of '90s indie rock.

Formed in 2004, the band has never been afraid of the drums-guitar-bass formula, and for the most part, their music is nicely streamlined. The group initially included an electric cello player, but on their new full-length, the instrument is used sparingly on a only few tracks.

Carly Schneider carries every song with her steady, swooning voice, which is mixed well above everything else to create a dream-like effect. In the process Finest Dearest manage to avoid clobbering the listener over the head with punchy beats and jagged guitars, though the band's live performance does feel like a swift knock to the head. The blaring amps and drums are a welcome reminder of how much impact indie rock can have.

FINEST DEAREST CD RELEASE SHOW
With Maus Haus and Saything
Sat/5, 7 p.m., $3
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1256 Mission, SF