Ahab Rex "Rollin' With the Ahab Rex Quintet" CD
[self-released]
Bassist/vocalist Ahab Rex wrote damn near all of this material on his own and, of course, leads this band that has been self-described as, "The vocal gruff of Tom Waits over Nine Inch Nails styled compositions, as performed by The White Stripes." I personally don't agree with those comparisons at all, but I guess at a major stretch all three could be very loosely accurate. In actuality I find this work to be dirty rock ‘n' roll with a very light industrial tinge in the form of some vocal effects and rather grimy guitar/bass textures. The drumbeats are really basic, and the song structures are simplistic and sort of catchy, which are really the only connections to be made to The White Stripes at all. I'm not really into it, but I can listen to it, you know? Sometimes the chunkier rhythms remind me more of Clutch meets Fudge Tunnel meets Helmet (most notably in the darker "The Surgeon's Photo"), but this isn't as heavy or aggressive, so that rock ‘n' roll sort of energy tends to keep things on the catchier side of the spectrum. "Cheer Up" is another solid midpaced rocker that has a nice sludgy chord progression going on, while "Dope Sick" uses clarinet and standup bass with almost ridiculous (but in a good way) low spoken vocal textures for a totally different approach from the other tracks. The fifth track is a cover of L7's "The Bomb" that has been retitled "Plastic People" for some reason or another, and the last track on the disc is a cover of The Cure's "Cold", which is the more effective of the two with its dark melodies and plodding rhythmic repetition. The recording's pretty good for a self-released effort. Everything sounds relatively clear and the bass tone is excellent. I think the guitars ought to be thicker or more up front (more sustain would help, basically), and there's some separation in the mix at times that leaves a few gaps behind despite tons of layering being involved, but for the most part everything sounds efficient so I'm not complaining. The disc comes in a nice looking slipcase with clean arrangements and interesting imagery. No lyrics are included but all of the credits and such are crammed onto the package without coming across as jumbled, so it gets the job done. Like I said, I'm not that into this, but it's fairly well executed and I do enjoy some of the songs, so... I can appreciate what's going on, and I'd be curious to hear more down the road to see where it ends up. (6/10)
Running time - 34:22, Tracks: 10
[Notable tracks: The Surgeon's Photo, Cheer Up, Cold]
Ahab Rex - http://www.ahabrex.com

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