Madcap "Under Suspicion" CD
[Victory]
Ehhh, I think I'll have to pass. I don't know. These kids dress like a mix between 80's rock guys and "punks", their music is a mix of "punk" and straight rock or whatever... and it's just not my thing. A few of the songs have their moments, and they've got a slick recording... but it's not hitting me. The tempos are pretty midpaced, sometimes getting more energetic, they use lots of open chords and subtle vocal harmonies, driving basslines... the problem is that the songs aren't that catchy. Some of the riffs are cool when they bring in some indie-ish stuff, but the vocal harmonies should probably be more pronounced, because "In My Head" is by far the best song due to getting to the point with plenty of catchy vocal harmonies in a direct framework with no extraneous bullshit. "Under Suspicion" uses the token ska chord progression as its core, and "Searching for Ground" sounds a hell of a lot like Operation Ivy - plus takes the ska thing to another level by throwing in some horns. Other than that most of the songs are quite similar aside from a few minor changes in loud/soft dynamics. The recording is damn good, though. They've got a killer bass tone that really plays a huge role in the songs, and the percussion sounds good as well. The guitars could probably be smoother, but that bite gives them a good ringing texture and does work against the rhythm section, and they've got a really clean vocal recording on top of everything else. It definitely sounds nice. I like the fact that the layout is all done in high contrast black, white, and red, so it looks clean and consistent. It could be better, but it gets the job done. The lyrics are basically personal, some more involved than others, but I'm just not interested in what they're saying. The CD-Rom portion of the disc has a brief three-minute studio documentary and then a bonus song called "Jimmy the Saint" along with a photo gallery. I hate it when CD-Rom videos don't let you fast forward or rewind, but other than that it's well handled. Put "Move Forward" and "In My Head" on a 7" and I'd easily give it a 7/10, but as a full-length most of this stuff is uninteresting filler for me. They can write a great song, they just don't do so consistently. (5/10)
Running time - 34:49, Tracks: 11
[Notable tracks: Move Forward, In My Head]
Victory Records - http://www.victoryrecords.com

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