Vacation went by too quickly but it’s time to get back to the business of reviewing CD’s. For this next installment I’ve decided to try something different. Instead of looking through the mail bag at the CD’s cover art or maybe throwing a couple CD’s in to get a cursory listen, both of which are how I normally choose CD’s to review, this time I’m simply going to blindly pick 9 CD’s out of the bag and those are the ones I’m reviewing. My version of a blind taste test, and I hope this doesn’t leave me snake bit.
Rainshine
“Radio Z”
www.rainshinemusic.com
Style (rock / alternative)
A while back at a Viper Room show I got a 3 song sampler from the guys in Rainshine and I am ecstatic to finally have the full CD playing on my player. And honestly this is a CD I’ll play a dozen times before I even listen to anything else. Rainshine’s sound is tight, thumps with bass, gets the body and head moving like a pogo stick gone crazy. The guitars and vocals are maniacal, passionately spirited with great attitude and energy, and the lyrics are catchy and stay with you resonating around in your head. The bass licks on this CD are thumpin’, funk rockin’ bass that if I played it through a high powered car stereo while cruising the Sunset Strip I’d cause windows to shatter and mini skirt clad cuties to loose their minds. Completing the trio and giving these strong rock and roll songs their base is the smooth and steady drums. Having seen this threesome live a couple times I can say it’s a rarity to come across a CD that’s produced so perfectly to match and compliment a bands energy and intensity on stage. Some bands produce a CD which piques your interest and then it’s either sink or swim live. Rainshine’s CD is the rarified air adding to and going beyond what these guys do on stage. This is exactly the type of CD I was waiting for from them and I’m sure there fans will scoop this up faster than the new Harry Potter book.
Rating 4 ½ (the band delivered big time)!!! - Hidden Gem
Sonata Arctica
“Unia”
www.myspace.com/sonataarctica
Style (Rock / Metal / Progressive)
Theatrical melodic rock are the first words that come to mind. Maybe it’s the presentation, which has a chapter, verse, chapter layout feel to it, and it feels like I should be watching a rock opera. Which begs the question, was this intentional or did it just happen? As for the music, it’s definitely not winning me over. Every song has the same tone, pitch, melodic harmonies, arrangement, etc, and simply lacks differentiation from the next. The guitars have a nice crunch to them, and the guys are definitely working hard because this music isn’t slow, but I just can’t get into a CD with bland, contrived, and forced emotion. The lyrics are lackluster with vocals that don’t step out and shine, and this format is one begging for vocals to jump up, grab the spot light, and scream “Ladies and Gentleman CAN YOU DIG IT!!!” Adding to the list of things I don’t dig about this CD is the keyboards - oh how I despise keyboards in metal bands. And it’s not my dislike for keyboards sending me for the disk change button but the fact that the keyboards are competing with the vocals. After all what’s more important, the vocals or the keyboards, or hiring a producer with good enough ears to recognize what’s important? This CD desperately needs to be messed up more with tweaks made to the vocal range and mixing to garner attention.
Rating 1 ½
Horse the Band
“A Natural Death”
www.myspace.com/horsetheband
Style (progressive / metal)
Aside from being randomly chosen, I honestly would have reviewed this CD anyway just because of the “over the top” psycho babble in the bio stating this CD “is about the futility and arrogance of creation and destruction...the horror of birth and the beauty of death.” Come on, can’t pass this up. As for the music, it’s straight forward metal with some tripped out sounding keyboards, which more then likely pushes it away from the classification of straight forward metal. Though I’m not a fan of keyboards in metal bands I’ll honestly say the keyboards don’t bother me here because they’re too different and add that zesty spritz of lemon where none would normally be added and after tasting it you become drawn to it. Maybe that’s the futility, horror, and beauty, I don’t really know, but somehow it works. Vocally the singer possesses a raspy strong growl that’s coherent and disciplined, and his message comes through. Listening through the CD I could see this band getting gigs along side some techno / industrial metal bands and can imagine quite an energetic mosh pit. Lots of songs on this disk to get crazy to.
Rating 2 ½
Liz Carlisle
“Big Dreams”
www.lizcarlisle.com
Style (country / with shades of rock country)
Uh oh, blind taste test gave me my first snake bite. Quick call 911 and get the antivenom.... Sad to think if these were my last few minutes on earth the last sounds in my head would be that of a female country singer with a too high pitched, childlike, nasally, and hollow voice. And I thought my karma was all up to date. Guess not. My advice would be to drop the pitch and give the songs a more mature and emotional female quality instead of a little girl voice. It’s really tough trying to sell heart felt love lost emotional lyrics like “My bed is empty and it’s got me feeling low” being sung in a nasally high pitch tone that sounds like the female version of Alvin from Alvin and Chipmunks. Not to mention the vocals are absolutely killing the song “Hey California” which is definitely a rockin song I could see getting some radio attention not to mention getting played on the juke box in some boot stompin’ two stepping roadhouse. But not with those vocals. Funny how one thing, albeit a big thing (vocals), can turn you off from a CD. Maybe it’s her age because she looks young in the photos so only the future will tell. Sure hope so. Musically though nothing jumping out to grab me by the jugular but I like the musical arrangements by Russell Wolff.
Rating 1
I Am The Pilot
“Crashing Into Consciousness”
www.myspace.com/iamthepilot
Style (Rock / Alternative)
I’m diggin’ this sound. Typically I’m drawn to music that moves, has good grooves and hooks, and has a rock and roll attitude. I’m even more drawn to music that on CD comes across as the kind of sound that’ll totally smoke live. And though this is a CD review column my gut tells me this band gets it done live. The CD stands well on it’s own with crunchy rock guitars ripping out excellent grooves and hooks, drums and bass I consider “in the pocket”, and lyrics catchy enough to have all the girls singing along. This is a band I would expect to hear on KROQ if the station was actually tuned into playing new and burgeoning alternative rock bands instead of having their playlist stuck on the RHCP. This CD has done exactly what I feel a good CD should, grab my attention and get me interested in venturing out to catch the live show. And it won’t surprise me should I catch them live locally here in LA that these guys totally rock and ignite into balls of fire once the curtain opens. This band is definitely energy charged.
Rating 3 ½
Sinking Spells
“The Devil at My Side”
www.myspace.com/sinkingspells
Style (Rock / Alternative)
At first I was thinking this one would fall into the category of snake bite, then I stopped and listened more. Musically it started to grow on me. I’m diggin’ the quick tempo alt-rock punk influenced sound and could see this going over fairly well with a college crowd or in some smaller off the main drag clubs. However the problem I have, despite the good music, is what I’ve termed from a previous review “The Loader Effect”. That means the CD has good music, music that gets your attention, is well written, performed, and produced, but the vocals are absolutely horrid. Simply put, the dude can’t sing. Maybe this is the point with a punk influence but I’m not buying it. This is like having a killer 4x4 truck with $35 15" Pep Boy tires. I don’t know the history of this band but maybe Elton John was correct when he said last week the internet was ruining the music business. I’m not blaming the internet on the poor vocals but saying they’re not gettin’ it done is an understatement. I’m honestly dumbfounded by music that has a killer sound, awesome rhythms, and is the kind of music that gets your attention and moves your body, but has crappy vocals. Come on guys, someone tell the dude he’s not cutting it even if he formed the band. False grandeur is a terrible affliction but it is treatable. And why is it always the vocals????
Rating 2 (only because of the music)
Acute
“Arms Around a Stranger”
www.myspace.com/acuteband
Style (Indie / Rock / Pop)
Talk about a CD that just lays there and does nothing, is uninspiring, and could be used to clear a packed room. If I was at say Coachella and I walked into a side stage tent, because let’s be honest there’s no way this band would ever make it to a main stage unless they were part of the crew, and this band was playing on stage, it would truly surprise me if anyone was left standing and hadn’t either committed suicide, passed out from boredom, or left running laughing their ass off. I happened to be listening to this dog with a 5 year old boy in the room and his comment about the music when I asked him, and I agree with his description, was “it sounds too girlie.” Right on dude!!! I’m all for zoning out with a cold one and a fatty and if I remember correctly Aerosmith wrote their best stuff while stoned. But Acute sure as hell ain’t Aerosmith, and if the members from Acute weren’t high when they wrote and recorded this dog then what the hell went wrong? I’m all for doing things because of creative reasons but if you’re going to produce this kind of train wreck then you truly open yourself up to either being criticized, which is exactly what I’m doing, or questioned why, also what I’m doing. Here’s 10 songs of my life I’ll never get back.
Rating ½ (why they get a ½ I honestly don’t know)
Sherwood
“A Different Light”
www.myspace.com/sherwood
Style (Indie / rock / pop)
Do you know how geeky white people look when they can’t dance and only know that one stupid left foot / right foot one step dance move? You know, the one all us aging rockers did back in the 80's at the prom or the school dance. Well if you haven’t danced to anything since those days and you fall into the category of “can’t dance” this CD should rekindle those hot groovin’ dance moves. I just hope it doesn’t inspire a resurgence of the mullet. But don’t misunderstand my description to mean this band sounds like those 80's bands that made popular that hot dance craze. To the contrary. The music from Sherwood is popish rock with dance beats where all the instruments and vocals are in the mid to high range filled with lots of empty harmonies, and lack any semblance of melodic hooks that stay with you. The songs sure as hell aren’t as catchy as N’Sync. Not to mention looking at the artwork and band picture before popping this into my CD player I had a preconceived idea of their sound, but once again proved you can’t judge a book by its cover. The artwork and band photo has a throwback 70's feel what with the funky artistic cover picture and 70's white guy afro’s, beards, and jeans style. And it’s this difference between sound and appearance that will cause the band to fight an uphill battle selling themselves and their music to perspective club owners. A booking agent or club owner isn’t interested in booking a pop bubble gum sound rock band that on looks alone should be playing Steppenwolf.
Rating 1 ½ (best song - “A Different Light” - hidden on track 12)
Mendeed
“The Dead Live By Love”
www.myspace.com/mendeed
Style (speed metal)
Fast, fast, fast metal. To say this music whips by at lightning rapid speed would be an understatement. I think if you head banged to this stuff you’d be visiting the chiropractor and an internal doctor for a concussion. What is different about Mendeed’s speed metal sound is related to the pitch which is more mid - high and not low level crunch. Vocally the lyrics are coherent growls with high pitch sung harmonies for the choruses, which for a speed metal band is way out in left field but the band pulls it off nicely. The guitars on this CD are blazing fast and I wouldn’t be surprised to find out these two axemen rip through strings nightly faster than Lindsay Lohan rips threw a cocktail. Not to mention the drums are a wickedly insane lightning double kick assault that honestly is tiring me out just listening to it. My one problem though is that I’m not hearing a real mosh pit sound. Possibly because the music is played at such a lightning pace it simply blows right through the pit before anyone can start one. But overall I dig what I hear.
Rating 3+
Autumn Black
“Beneath the Shadows”
www.autumnblackmusic.com
Style (metal)
Metal to mosh to!!! I thoroughly love metal music that gets the body jumping around, gets the pit swirling, gets the horns up. Nothing better than awesome mosh pit fueled by killer cranked up metal accompanied by seizure inducing strobe lights. And this is exactly what I’m hearing from Autumn Black. Vocalist Ruben Platt has a low tough growl bringing forth emotion and angst from deep within the belly of the beast. His growls aren’t just some barked out incoherent howler monkey howl like what I hear from other metal singers. Instead Platt puts forth a purpose, a meaning in his growls and the emotion is truly genuine. Many of the songs choruses have sung backing vocals (something along the lines of what Linkin Park does) which adds another strong dimension further separating this bands musical arrangements from the pack. I suspect this vocal tangent in the choruses will grab the attention of some people hanging around outside the pit checking out the music. Bass and drums are steady, not overly done, giving the songs an excellent foundation. And the testosterone guitars are just the way fans of metal like them, crunchy and strong.
Rating 3
