Oh, god, I don't like reviewing stuff like this.? What I mean is that I really dislike the band name for whatever reason, so I assumed it would stink.? And... it basically does, but since it's a decent looking professionally pressed CD that does have some redeeming qualities, I can't really justify not reviewing it, so I have to sit here and listen to 45 minutes of mediocre rock ?n' roll and actually put some effort into describing it and citing what bothers me about it, when in all truth I just don't care, you know? Calling it "45 minutes of mediocre rock ?n' roll" is a start, but the band has a weird style that's equal parts rock based chord progressions and a sort of punk catchiness, with a harder edge coming in the form of faint dissonance and a thick sort of guitar tone. The vocals are sung and have a strange upper midrange twang going on, and while not terrible they do sound a tad halfassed to me, lacking the kind of force necessary to pull off such a performance. The music is similar in that it's just not convincing. There are some cool riffs here and there, but the overall songwriting isn't that memorable and there are some rough spots in the performances. The recording isn't bad but does have a dry sort of rawness going on, so there's a little bit of muddy low-end and the end result isn't as clear or punchy as it should be. Even if the songs were incredible the recording would hold ?em back since it has a distance to it that carries a... how should I say it? Not necessarily a "low budget" feel, as I don't really think budget is a real issue, and not an "unprofessional" feel because that's not accurate either. Hmmm, I mean, I guess, you know, it has that feel that you'd expect from a smaller band you've never heard of on a smaller label you've never heard of, right? Obviously such preconceptions are totally unfair, but sometimes they're accurate, and sadly that's the case here. Stylistically they mess with everything from standard midpaced chords to faster and noisier playing that has an unexpectedly frantic vibe (still building around that bluesy sort of rock foundation somehow), among others. The more melodic moments such as those during the start of "Moderation" aren't bad, but the vocal performance isn't solid enough to work, definitely struggling with the higher notes and overall stability. But they often mess up that straightforward and catchy zest by fiddling with some of those weirder angles, and in this case I think it hurts more than it helps. The angrier yelling approach in the faster and generally more aggressive "Viva Los Alamos" is way better, and until they slow down a minute in (again, senselessly fiddling with some of those weirder angles) the song kicks ass, so... that's where they ought to be heading. The seven-minute "Martyr Bound" has a darker and doomier undercurrent, but it's not really hitting home for me. There's some variety, but I can't say much of it really matters in the long run. The layout's not so bad. It's fairly clean and consistent, the lyrics are very compactly delivered, and I like the way the entire inside of the booklet depicts each of the band members in an old carnival painting or whatever. It could look better, it's just cool to see a band use more artwork than text nonsense. The lyrics aren't half bad either, taking a pretty abstract approach that's not at all too far gone, but isn't too direct either. "You can't leave bad enough alone, You break your neck to drag the stone, You brought it down upon yourself, A self-selected sanguine hell." I don't know, the faster delivery in "Viva Los Alamos" kills the rest of this stuff dead in its tracks. None of the other songs catch my ear at all, and most of this stuff is pretty boring. I could see the band being a little more interesting without a terribly large amount of work, but at this stage I'm not into it. I have to say though that one of the dudes in the band, Keith Bergman, is responsible for the hilarious Infernal Combustion website and a solid guy all around, but hey, nothing personal... I just don't like this record.
[Sin Klub]
Running time - 44:54, Tracks: 12
[Notable tracks: Viva Los Alamos]
Sin Klub Entertainment - http://www.sinklub.com
