This is a split
CD from two Milwaukee bands. Each band does one original, covers a song by the
other band on this split, and does four more covers. Aside from the regional
connection, however, these two bands don’t have a whole lot in common. If I Had
a HiFi are more noisy/experimental, while Modern Machines have more of a garage
rock crossed with eighties alternative vibe going on. It’s all pretty good, but
not good enough to really get me excited. (Bob Ignizio)
This is a re-issue of The Obsessed’s seminal doom/stoner
rock opus from 1991. Even in the wake of so many bands who were inspired by The
Obsessed and other similar bands, ‘Lunar Womb’ still stands out as a great slab
of inspired sludge. Vocalist/guitarist Wino (who has also done stints in Saint
Vitus, Spirit Caravan, and The Hidden Hand) has a great voice, and his guitar
licks aren’t too shabby, either. Unlike many of the bands that would follow in
their wake, The Obsessed largely avoid excessive jamming and unnecessarily long
songs. Most of the tracks here are in the 3 to 4 minute range, and show a
preference for strong songwriting over self indulgent soloing. 15 years after
its initial release, ‘Lunar Womb’ still holds up as a fine example of accessible
but truly heavy rock. (Bob Ignizio)
Sorry, this just isn’t my thing at all. It’s very
commercial sounding modern hard rock. For the genre, the guys do it fairly
well. Nothing on here would be out of place on a mainstream “modern rock”
station, but personally I’d rather listen to dead air than that kind of music.
Solid musicianship, excellent production, and some good hooks will likely win
over listeners other than me. It’s just too mainstream sounding for my tastes.
(Bob Ignizio)
This just
sounds like standard issue hard rock/heavy metal to me. It’s not awful, but
definitely nothing I can get excited about. Musicianship and production are
fine, but the songwriting is about as generic as you can get. Soundwise it’s
kind of Motorhead meets Guns N Roses. What can I say, this just does nothing
for me. If I was at a bar drinking and these guys were playing, it would be
okay background music, but that’s about the best I can say. Attempts at a more
aggressive, modern sound on tracks like “Broken” fare no better than the rest of
this album. (Bob Ignizio)
This is a split
CD from two Milwaukee bands. Each band does one original, covers a song by the
other band on this split, and does four more covers. Aside from the regional
connection, however, these two bands don’t have a whole lot in common. If I Had
a HiFi are more noisy/experimental, while Modern Machines have more of a garage
rock crossed with eighties alternative vibe going on. It’s all pretty good, but
not good enough to really get me excited. (Bob Ignizio) 
This is a re-issue of The Obsessed’s seminal doom/stoner
rock opus from 1991. Even in the wake of so many bands who were inspired by The
Obsessed and other similar bands, ‘Lunar Womb’ still stands out as a great slab
of inspired sludge. Vocalist/guitarist Wino (who has also done stints in Saint
Vitus, Spirit Caravan, and The Hidden Hand) has a great voice, and his guitar
licks aren’t too shabby, either. Unlike many of the bands that would follow in
their wake, The Obsessed largely avoid excessive jamming and unnecessarily long
songs. Most of the tracks here are in the 3 to 4 minute range, and show a
preference for strong songwriting over self indulgent soloing. 15 years after
its initial release, ‘Lunar Womb’ still holds up as a fine example of accessible
but truly heavy rock. (Bob Ignizio)
Sorry, this just isn’t my thing at all. It’s very
commercial sounding modern hard rock. For the genre, the guys do it fairly
well. Nothing on here would be out of place on a mainstream “modern rock”
station, but personally I’d rather listen to dead air than that kind of music.
Solid musicianship, excellent production, and some good hooks will likely win
over listeners other than me. It’s just too mainstream sounding for my tastes.
(Bob Ignizio)
This just
sounds like standard issue hard rock/heavy metal to me. It’s not awful, but
definitely nothing I can get excited about. Musicianship and production are
fine, but the songwriting is about as generic as you can get. Soundwise it’s
kind of Motorhead meets Guns N Roses. What can I say, this just does nothing
for me. If I was at a bar drinking and these guys were playing, it would be
okay background music, but that’s about the best I can say. Attempts at a more
aggressive, modern sound on tracks like “Broken” fare no better than the rest of
this album. (Bob Ignizio)