A lot of
good things are coming off of Nobody's Favorite Records, out of Boston. The
latest in good things is Mark Mandeville. ‘Leaf Tornado’ is a great record, raw
and beautiful. "Wishing And Whining" is an emotional opener, with layered vocals
and lush guitars. This is fine folk rock. Mark used to record under the name The
Brands, but now is going under his own name because this time around, he had
little or no help with the record. It's a four track masterpiece. "Stereo Rain"
is just what it's called, a song that drips into your speakers, and leaves your
ears muddied with a sadness and joy all at the same time. I loved this record,
and you will to, or you are just deaf. (Eddie Fleisher)
This album is one of
the more original metal concepts I've heard in a long time. The fact that it's
an independent release makes it all the more impressive. The Paper Street Soap
Company is a three piece musical project that mixes the most extreme metal with
experimental jam sections, acoustic breaks, and general Zappa-esque musical
weirdness. The album kicks off with a deceptive clean guitar riff that lulls
the listener into thinking that the band was about to kick off with a
deadhead-style jam, only to launch into a brutal metal assault. All three
members do vocalizations, with Mike Woolnough (Guitars) doing the "high end
screams", Marc Sabo (Bass) doing the "low end grunts", and Eric Pecherkiewicz
(Drums) listed as doing the "singing". Not every track works, but bands this
original rarely bat 1000 every time. Is is thoroughly satisfying, however.
This album is great fun. The Heathen Hippy gives it three low end grunts. For
more info go to
http://www.thepaperstreetsoapco.cjb.net/. (Taliesin Govannon)
Oh my Gods...has
the putrid, vile pestilence that is American Nu-Metal infected the American
music scene to such a critical mass that even Grind-Core bands are not immune?
It seems so while listening to ‘Terrifyer’, the latest release by Pig
Destroyer. The first clue I had was the sticker on front of the CD, where they
packed on more hype in 1 1/2 X 3 inches than I see in some whole band bios. I'm
sorry, but comparing ANYONE to The Melvins, Agoraphobic Nosebleed, Napalm Death,
Pantera AND Slayer is setting the listener up for disappointment. Try mixing
Disturbed with a bad goraphobic Nosebleed demo played at System of A Down's
house in the midst of a tourettes seizure while...well, you get the idea. The
longest track on the CD clocks in at just over 3 minutes, while most of them are
59 seconds or less. There is a lack of good grooves, the guitar sound is
over-produced, the vocals are completely un-original...the most competent
musician is the drummer, and he seems to be playing by rote. Oh yeah, and
there's a DVD audio disc called ‘Natasha’ included that's...more of the same. I
have a low tolerance for grindcore, but good grindcore is a lot of fun. This is
not good nor fun. The heathen hippy gives it 1 bored drummer. (Taliesin
Govannon)
Eighties new wave,
nineties alternative, and sixties garage and surf mix together nicely on this
debut CD from Pilot Scott Tracy. The vocals are kind of quirky and the guitars
have a smooth sound that still rocks hard. The Pixies and Sonic Youth seem
likely influences, as do Devo and perhaps even The Butthole Surfers. “Human
Earthquake” starts the album off with a lot of energy, and is followed by two
more rockers before switching gears for some Gary Numanesque synthpop on “Return
to My Home”. “The Time Has Come” blends the two approaches to nice effect.
Actually, these two songs remind me not only of Numan but of the more pop
oriented eighties band The Cars. Overall, the middle section of this album gets
a little laid back, and perhaps another rocker in the mix would have been a good
choice (“Angel of Death” comes close, but is still pretty poppy despite sharing
its title with a Slayer song), but that’s probably just a personal taste thing.
Things get driving and noisy again with “Any City” and “Dust”, while “Master
Jack” sounds kind of like sixties folk rock meets early synth rock. The album
ends kind of flatly with the instrumental “Take a Flight”. So overall, I’d say
the pacing of the album is a little off and there are a few so-so tracks.
Still, the majority of what’s on here is quite good, and I’ll be looking forward
to hearing whatever this band does next. (Bob Ignizio)
A lot of
good things are coming off of Nobody's Favorite Records, out of Boston. The
latest in good things is Mark Mandeville. ‘Leaf Tornado’ is a great record, raw
and beautiful. "Wishing And Whining" is an emotional opener, with layered vocals
and lush guitars. This is fine folk rock. Mark used to record under the name The
Brands, but now is going under his own name because this time around, he had
little or no help with the record. It's a four track masterpiece. "Stereo Rain"
is just what it's called, a song that drips into your speakers, and leaves your
ears muddied with a sadness and joy all at the same time. I loved this record,
and you will to, or you are just deaf. (Eddie Fleisher)
This album is one of
the more original metal concepts I've heard in a long time. The fact that it's
an independent release makes it all the more impressive. The Paper Street Soap
Company is a three piece musical project that mixes the most extreme metal with
experimental jam sections, acoustic breaks, and general Zappa-esque musical
weirdness. The album kicks off with a deceptive clean guitar riff that lulls
the listener into thinking that the band was about to kick off with a
deadhead-style jam, only to launch into a brutal metal assault. All three
members do vocalizations, with Mike Woolnough (Guitars) doing the "high end
screams", Marc Sabo (Bass) doing the "low end grunts", and Eric Pecherkiewicz
(Drums) listed as doing the "singing". Not every track works, but bands this
original rarely bat 1000 every time. Is is thoroughly satisfying, however.
This album is great fun. The Heathen Hippy gives it three low end grunts. For
more info go to 
Oh my Gods...has
the putrid, vile pestilence that is American Nu-Metal infected the American
music scene to such a critical mass that even Grind-Core bands are not immune?
It seems so while listening to ‘Terrifyer’, the latest release by Pig
Destroyer. The first clue I had was the sticker on front of the CD, where they
packed on more hype in 1 1/2 X 3 inches than I see in some whole band bios. I'm
sorry, but comparing ANYONE to The Melvins, Agoraphobic Nosebleed, Napalm Death,
Pantera AND Slayer is setting the listener up for disappointment. Try mixing
Disturbed with a bad goraphobic Nosebleed demo played at System of A Down's
house in the midst of a tourettes seizure while...well, you get the idea. The
longest track on the CD clocks in at just over 3 minutes, while most of them are
59 seconds or less. There is a lack of good grooves, the guitar sound is
over-produced, the vocals are completely un-original...the most competent
musician is the drummer, and he seems to be playing by rote. Oh yeah, and
there's a DVD audio disc called ‘Natasha’ included that's...more of the same. I
have a low tolerance for grindcore, but good grindcore is a lot of fun. This is
not good nor fun. The heathen hippy gives it 1 bored drummer. (Taliesin
Govannon)
Eighties new wave,
nineties alternative, and sixties garage and surf mix together nicely on this
debut CD from Pilot Scott Tracy. The vocals are kind of quirky and the guitars
have a smooth sound that still rocks hard. The Pixies and Sonic Youth seem
likely influences, as do Devo and perhaps even The Butthole Surfers. “Human
Earthquake” starts the album off with a lot of energy, and is followed by two
more rockers before switching gears for some Gary Numanesque synthpop on “Return
to My Home”. “The Time Has Come” blends the two approaches to nice effect.
Actually, these two songs remind me not only of Numan but of the more pop
oriented eighties band The Cars. Overall, the middle section of this album gets
a little laid back, and perhaps another rocker in the mix would have been a good
choice (“Angel of Death” comes close, but is still pretty poppy despite sharing
its title with a Slayer song), but that’s probably just a personal taste thing.
Things get driving and noisy again with “Any City” and “Dust”, while “Master
Jack” sounds kind of like sixties folk rock meets early synth rock. The album
ends kind of flatly with the instrumental “Take a Flight”. So overall, I’d say
the pacing of the album is a little off and there are a few so-so tracks.
Still, the majority of what’s on here is quite good, and I’ll be looking forward
to hearing whatever this band does next. (Bob Ignizio)