| CD REVIEW (This review was also published at www.701.com) |
| This CD is yet another in a long line of insipidly montonous bands whose sound I refer to as �brat rock� - nothing but a lot of moaning, groaning, or outright yelling of ill-phrased and petulant lyrics accompanied by repetitive rhythms and irritating guitar licks that lack any �kick� at all and instead sound just plain �noisy�. After clicking through one song after another without hearing anything inspiring at all, I was just about to write it off altogether, when the last song, �Can�t Live�, actually started with some authentic rock drumming and guitar riffs (care of Kerry Ryan and Nick Goodale, respectively). It briefly lost a bit of impetus along the way but then managed to pick it up again, at least succeeding in sounding like a poor man�s version of something by Widemouth Mason. Jake Roche played (mostly) on rhythm guitar and Matt Cosby went through the standard bass lines. That was just my initial impression, so I went through the tracks again a few times, thinking maybe I was being too harsh. Apart from a few good starts - �Stranded� � borrowing rhythm patterns from Boston�s �More than a Feeling� - �Rain�, �Wait for Me� � coming close to sounding like a John Mellancamp kind of rocker � and �Eyes, Life, Change�(at almost 9 minutes in length) � which was actually interspersed throughout with some fine blues-rock guitar work � la Hendrix, I still thought most of the songs ended up becoming tediously over-vocalized. I almost managed, without wincing, to listen all the way through �Ginger�, a track that could have been a very appealing ballad, but again vocalist Joe Smith got bored (or embarrassed?) trying to maintain a vocal tenderness that is so necessary in this kind of song. Apparently they cite Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, Lynyrd Skynyrd and The Who as influences, but I sure didn�t pick up on any vibes that were even remotely similar. The overall themes of the lyrics, which none of the band members takes credit for individually, seem to alternate between leaving, reluctantly, and being left behind. Regarding the latter, there is a tribute (�Out of Trust�) to Joe�s father, Charlie, who passed away from cancer last year, and in fact the entire CD was dedicated to him. Beau Hill, who has worked with Alice Cooper, Ratt and Bad Brains has successfully produced two radio hits on this CD � �Again� and �How They All Got Here�, which has resulted in a major label deal with Universal, but I personally would have chosen �Eyes, Life, Change� and �Can�t Live� as the hits, if any. Incredibly, they are actually being promoted as �helping to restore confidence in the battered genre�s [rock] future�. Huh? As far as I know, rock music has never been in danger of extinction, except maybe where current radio station air play is concerned. While there�s definitely potential for Nick Goodale as a rock guitarist-in-training, if this is the future of radio rock music, I think I�ll hang on to my �turntable classics� for a little while longer. |
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