Music by Pope Jane, Bucky Beaver and the Groundgrippers and Jim Southworth with Southbound will be featured at Rally in the Alley. PIctured from left to right are Pope Jane: Kristen Coyner, Holly Hoagland and Danielle Egnew.

This enticing sample offers some of the prolific group's most creative work. Never a cover band, Pope Jane is famous for the volume of original material they produce. One of the first things you notice is that the music is seamless. Bass, lead and rhythm guitars and drums form a perfect union of sound. It's more than just different instruments working together, each song is a tapestry of melody. Yet, each sound make itself heard, from Hoagland's bass boom and Brown's hot guitar licks to the softness of Egnew's acoustic guitar and the crashing of Coyner's drums. Egnew's vocals provide the secure stitches that hold the tapestry of Pope Jane together. Her voice is at times ferocious, at others, ethereal. For example, the tender, yet tumultuous "Scrapbook." Penned by Coyner, this song tells a story of a woman suffering the loss of her child. Egnew sings it at two levels, one, soft and fulnerable, the other, barely in control. It's an emotional roller coaster ride of a song.

Another musical morsel is the Egnew composition "Only Names Have Changed." The basic theme of the song is that while times change, people do not. Every album has a song that comments honestly about society, but Pope Jane's is unique because it refuses to sugarcoat anything. There is no moralizing or fables here, just an honest look at life in general.

So, before you go to Casey's on New Year's Eve to take in the group's last local appearance, make sure to pick up this gem. The only thing better than listening at home is watching it live.