José Diaz is not a slacker and his band, Neighbors, not to be confused with others who have tried to claim that name, gives a f**k. Their first LP, Would You Please Be Quiet, Please?, follows several CD-Rs, cassettes, and a lost 10" EP and serves as definitive proof of these facts. It marks Neighbors' transformation from Pacific Northwest DIY scrap-pop mainstays into an all-cylinders American guitar band defined by weighty words and effortless melodies - not unlike East Coast contemporaries Speedy Ortiz, Swearin', and Parquet Courts, among others - and documents this to better effect than ever before. The album picks up where last year's Power Country tour cassette left off. Diaz faces head-on competition from all directions, a world populated by sexist jerks, the moment free drinks turn into expensive ones, and all-encompassing, inescapable American sprawl. A year spent playing tons of shows, producing and mixing records for Chastity Belt, Dude York, Posse, and others, and running one of Seattle's most vital spaces in the wake of countless closures and infinite condos where basements once were has only honed their approach. JDR, Nathan Anderson, Evan Easthope, and Jacob Jaffe played on this record. Lexi Lee sang on "Muscle Grrl On Muscle Beach". Recorded in the Heartland by Jacob Jaffe and JDR. Mixed by JDR. Mastered by Dylan Wall. Designed by Michael Heck. Photo by Melissa Kagerer