| Atomic Numbers | 2000 |
| Metropolis | 2002 |
Not much of an introduction to write here, since I can pretty much talk about the band mostly in the review below, but it's worth pointing out that these guys are the source of my first ever 'bribery review', as the other sites in the WRC call it. Just imagine that - a more or less unknown guitar pop band actually sending me their album for review. And it's actually really good! I'll just throw out their lineup here (Carv Teft - vocals, Art Forte - Tony Morosoni - drums, guitar) before moving on. You can also visit their site at mineralkings.com.
--Nick Karn
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(reviewed by Nick Karn)
HIGH POINTS: Sweet, Please Don't Take It So Bad, North Beach Drifter. LOW POINTS: None.
Listening to this album really makes me wonder about the amount of highly talented bands doing a similar kind of guitar pop thing that could be out there without hardly anyone knowing about their existence. Especially ones that are far more interesting than stuff like Matchbox 20 or similarly generic crap. And with their sophomore effort, the Mineral Kings present one of the better recent albums I've heard from this vein. Maybe they aren't doing anything significantly different from a lot of bands out there, but I can see a few notable things in the songs of Metropolis that make it stand out - there's an interesting variety modern and classic rock influences (and a bit of a rootsy, country-ish feel as well) incorporated intelligently, the fact that all three members seem to be quite talented songwriters (as opposed to having just one leader), the occasional interesting textures thrown in, and the considerable strength of the melodies. All of these combine for quite a good experience.
It's also well worth discussing the individual songs here, especially since there isn't really a single real weak one in the bunch (all of them spanning 35 minutes - these guys really understand the importance of concise songwriting). Even the couple that are noticeably less impressive than the rest have excellent aspects to redeem them - "A Lot Like You" makes up for its' slightly plodding nature by having two highly infectious hooks (verse and chorus) plus a great guitar solo, while "Good Good Man" rises above its' irritating parodic lyrics with an interesting drum machine / hard rock riff pattern and gorgeous instrumental bridge. The other eight songs here? They're pretty much very appealing pop/rock with somewhat of a personal quality to the lyrics, shown immediately on the opening "North Beach Drifter", which has convincingly building melody. The songs are also just as capable of being laid-back (the rootsy "Queen Of Apostles") as they are edgy, like on the pounding verse / breakout chorus introspectiveness of "Scared To Death" and the aggressive yelling of "The Prize".
Also, I'm quite pleased with how professionally the whole thing is produced - it really does extremely infectious singalong tracks like "Jack O' Lantern" and especially "Please Don't Take It So Bad" justice when the sound is this energetic and full, making them a lot easier to like. As players, they're also quite accomplished (what with already being veterans of the music scene) - I can hear several memorable guitar riffs and basslines mostly courtesy of Art Forte, and Carv Tefft (whose tone often reminds me of The Cult's Ian Astbury) is a very pleasurable vocalist - especially when he goes all out on the fabulous acoustic overdrive of "Vanish". As for Tony Morosoni, in addition to providing solid drumwork here, he's mostly responsible for what could be my favorite song on the album, the highly gorgeous ballad "Sweet". With a great guitar-picking intro, it certainly lives up to its' title, even when it starts to rock out a bit.
Overall, this is a very likeable release - if most modern rock bands out there were this accomplished and melodic, I would be intrigued by a lot more of this kind of stuff out right now. Maybe the sound is slightly uniform at times, and nothing on here really blows me away as a totally timeless classic (though a couple of them aren't that far off), but the songwriting is for the most part consistently strong, and in all it shows that these guys are just as worthy of massive success as, well, almost any band that's come out in the last couple years. Note: The Mineral Kings are distributing this album through amazon.com right now, so you can get it if you're interested.
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