Here's some straight up, no frills rock ?n' roll from Richmond, VA.? 13 songs in a half-hour, so they keep things short and to the point, with each song averaging around two-and-a-half minutes.? Expect your usual dose of fuzzed out guitars and basic song structures drawing from an array of predominantly 70's influences, though to the band's credit they sound a little different from most such artists and are obviously drawing from a wider range of influences than many.? The vocals are definitely a little more colorful in their brand of singing, which ranges from fairly smooth (but not without attitude) to a raspier delivery, at times hitting on a little of a sneer or shrieked scream.? As for the songs themselves, it's a consistent listen, but there is variety throughout.? "Untuck It" builds around a classic framework and brings in a few quick acerbic strokes to break it up a little; the aptly titled "Losin' It" is perhaps catchier with its concise running time and verse/chorus structure; and "Paralyzed" is a little more laidback at the start with softer guitars and vocals alongside a few little snippets of keyboards, but it ends up roaring with noisy leads and power chords, so they don't let up all that often.? "Early ?72" is more midpaced and has some added breathing room going on, but that one's followed by "Ghetto Rose" and its more energetic pull-off riffing and sneered vocals.? "20 Year Old Idiot" throws in some way bluesier lead playing with a distinct twang to the guitar tone, but there's not much of that herein - at least not to that degree.? I'm not really feeling some of the less direct tunes like "Song of Evil" what with the more prominent vocal effects and slightly stranger sense of melody, but... that's life, I guess.? The recording sounds damn good to me.? It's nice and thick with a warm presence and a dry aesthetic that's very fitting of the rock they unleash.? The mix is also very well balanced and keeps the vocals back in with the instruments, so each element plays its own role.? I have no complaints.? The layout keeps it relatively simple and consists mostly of photography, some of which is better than the rest.? I think the cover looks pretty cool and that's what's most important, so screw it.? No lyrics are included, so I'm clueless as to what the dirt is behind tracks like the oddly titled "Nazi Mindreader" or "Ghetto Rose", to name but a few.? Also included is a bonus DVD called "High Performance", which is actually fairly well done and entertaining considering the band probably did it on little to no budget.? The main core of the material runs 45 minutes with another 10 - 15 minutes of bonus deleted scenes and whatnot.? It's basically a mockumentary of sorts, splicing live performance footage with interviews and behind the scenes activity with - part fact, part fiction.? The guys are great at keeping a straight face, so sometimes you really find yourself wondering if they're even remotely serious or not.? And it's always amusing to be watching a DVD in which one of the band members drives right past the building from which you're writing the review of their record.? Good stuff.? I'm not blown away by this disc or anything, but they write good songs and have more character than a lot of bands of this nature tend to deliver.? Certainly worth checking out for those who are into the stripped down and true to form rock ?n' roll of decades long since passed, and the DVD adds a surprising amount of extra value.? Well done.
[Arclight]
Running time - 29:07, Tracks: 13
[Notable tracks: Untuck It, You Gotta Know, Crash Bam Boom]
Arclight Records - http://www.arclightrecords.com
