What is the difference between an indie band, struggling to make it and a group that’s got a record deal and a single on FM radio? Two words: production and marketing. The music is secondary, really, in a time where no real generic changes are taking place in pop-rock; all the bands sound pretty much the same. For example, Uncle Seth, an independent group from Toronto, Canada, wear their influences proudly on their sleeve: Blues Traveller comes to mind quite readily when listening to "A little bit more" the first track from "Forgive and Forget: Volume One," Seth’s latest CD. Jay Moonah is clearly channeling John Popper. Meanwhile, Tara Thompson’s lead vocals have the rough edge of Alanis Morrisette, the sultry blues of a Holly Cole, and, oddly, at times, the rambling hop of Barenaked Ladies’ Steven Page and Ed Robertson. Really. These comparaisons are dubious, however. What sets the band apart? The second song, the very sweet "My Eyes," is tight, smooth, soft, genuine. Thompson sounds more like herself than a cookie-cutter "grrrl" rocker. The same can be said of "Whatever Happened," in which the lead vocalist picks up the trumpet for some nice instrumentals. The lyrics, if you care to pay attention, are clever: "you can put your foot in the gift horse’s mouth" is my favourite. Musically, there’s all sorts of great stuff going on—Jeff Jones is doing more than grinding his axe up there; his is a steady rock ‘n roll guitar. Moonah is responsible for some interesting arrangements—stuff that’ll make you go "cool!" if you’re a musician, and if you’re not, you’ll just groove right along without noticing the fancy tricks. Craig Hegins’ drums are also steady, but interesting. On the more up-tempo numbers, the rhythm is aggressive, but sometimes a little too much so. On "Civic" Thompson struggles to keep up with the packed lyrics—she doesn’t quite have the chops to rap like Page and Robertson—but she doesn’t need to: the unintended syncopation on the live tracks is laregly due to the lack of production—certainly with the benefit of studio time, the vocal track and rhythm section will line up nicely. "Forgive and Forget" is an album, short though it may be, that grows with every listen. The difference between Uncle Seth and Dave Matthews? Dave Matthews gets his songs spun on the radio over and over again so that listeners are so familiar with it, they can’t help but like it (it’s almost self-defence, in Dave Matthews’ case). You’ll have to do some work to find Uncle Seth, but when you do, treat them like you would treat the latest U2 album: play it over and over and over again. Chances are, you’ll like it.