Reigning Sound are
Greg Oblivion’s (oops, I mean Greg Cartwright’s) latest band. If you’re
familiar with their last LP “Time Bomb High School”, you already know not to
expect something that sounds like a lost Oblivions record. But this new LP is
quite different, actually. While TBHS kept things fairly even when it came to
garage rockers and poppy ballads, this new disc concentrates (with a couple
exceptions) on the former. The whole thing comes across as a lot more raw – and
Greg’s songwriting is some of the catchiest he’s done yet. The last song,
“Medication”, could even pass as an Oblivions outtake. Essential for anyone who
claims to be slightly interested in rock n roll, and would be all over
commercial radio this summer in a better world. (Russ Romance)
‘Haywire’
is a collection of well written pop songs, given a little bit of an edge with
heavy guitars and some elements of electronica. The production is slick and
professional, but I would have liked the guitars to be louder in the mix.
The band features a good melodic male lead vocalist with a touch of Peter Murphy
in his delivery, as well as a female vocalist who mostly sings harmony backups.
On "Wondering", however, she does get a chance to sing lead and handles herself
quite ably. There are definite similarities to other electronic/rock
hybirds like Nine Inch Nails and Rob Zombie, as well as eighties goth and synth
rock bands like Depeche Mode and Sisters of Mercy, but State of Being mix enough
different elements together to avoid sounding like copycats. Standout tracks
for me were "Haywire", "Overload", "Levity", "Take Me Away", and "Beneath the
Skin". While the rest of the tracks didn't grab me as much, they're
not bad. For more info, check out the band’s
website.
The Straight 8s – ‘Casualties
of Cool’ (Rock N Roll Purgatory)
Old
school rockabilly played by a smokin’ band with a good vocalist. Sure it’s been
done before, but if you’re a fan of the style you’ll probably be bopping too
hard to care. As far as retro homage goes, it doesn’t get much better than
this. The vocals, the songwriting, and the production all sound vintage.
“Rocket Ship Rock” and “Rockabilly Zombie” deal with horror/sci-fi subject
matter, but for the most part the Straight 8s’ lyrics stay rooted in more
earthly concerns. If you’re looking for raging psychobilly you might be
disappointed, but rockabilly purists should be thrilled. I wouldn’t give the
Straight 8s straight ‘A’s, but they at least earn a solid ‘B’ average. (Bob
Ignizio)
Copies of this CD
were given free of charge to attendees at the recent Auburn Records 20th
Anniversary Show that took place on June 3rd, 2004. Don’t know if a
retail edition is planned or not, but since I have the disc I figured I might as
well offer up my comments. The disc contains 18 tracks by the bands that made
up Auburn’s roster in the eighties, mostly from the Cleveland area. A few
tracks make their first ever appearance on this disc, including a live version
of Destructor’s signature tune, a new song by Breaker taken from a recent demo,
advance tracks from Aftershok, Real Steel, and Wretch’s upcoming albums on the
label, and archival demo tracks from Black Death and Havoc. Several other
tracks, though previously released on vinyl, make their first appearances on CD
here. There are a few bands on here that I don’t care for, but all the acts
display solid musicianship and songwriting abilities. Old fans will get a nice
trip down memory lane, and younger listeners will get a good introduction to
what they missed. (Bob Ignizio)
Reigning Sound are
Greg Oblivion’s (oops, I mean Greg Cartwright’s) latest band. If you’re
familiar with their last LP “Time Bomb High School”, you already know not to
expect something that sounds like a lost Oblivions record. But this new LP is
quite different, actually. While TBHS kept things fairly even when it came to
garage rockers and poppy ballads, this new disc concentrates (with a couple
exceptions) on the former. The whole thing comes across as a lot more raw – and
Greg’s songwriting is some of the catchiest he’s done yet. The last song,
“Medication”, could even pass as an Oblivions outtake. Essential for anyone who
claims to be slightly interested in rock n roll, and would be all over
commercial radio this summer in a better world. (Russ Romance)
‘Haywire’
is a collection of well written pop songs, given a little bit of an edge with
heavy guitars and some elements of electronica. The production is slick and
professional, but I would have liked the guitars to be louder in the mix.
The band features a good melodic male lead vocalist with a touch of Peter Murphy
in his delivery, as well as a female vocalist who mostly sings harmony backups.
On "Wondering", however, she does get a chance to sing lead and handles herself
quite ably. There are definite similarities to other electronic/rock
hybirds like Nine Inch Nails and Rob Zombie, as well as eighties goth and synth
rock bands like Depeche Mode and Sisters of Mercy, but State of Being mix enough
different elements together to avoid sounding like copycats. Standout tracks
for me were "Haywire", "Overload", "Levity", "Take Me Away", and "Beneath the
Skin". While the rest of the tracks didn't grab me as much, they're
not bad. For more info, check out the band’s
Old
school rockabilly played by a smokin’ band with a good vocalist. Sure it’s been
done before, but if you’re a fan of the style you’ll probably be bopping too
hard to care. As far as retro homage goes, it doesn’t get much better than
this. The vocals, the songwriting, and the production all sound vintage.
“Rocket Ship Rock” and “Rockabilly Zombie” deal with horror/sci-fi subject
matter, but for the most part the Straight 8s’ lyrics stay rooted in more
earthly concerns. If you’re looking for raging psychobilly you might be
disappointed, but rockabilly purists should be thrilled. I wouldn’t give the
Straight 8s straight ‘A’s, but they at least earn a solid ‘B’ average. (Bob
Ignizio)
Copies of this CD
were given free of charge to attendees at the recent Auburn Records 20th
Anniversary Show that took place on June 3rd, 2004. Don’t know if a
retail edition is planned or not, but since I have the disc I figured I might as
well offer up my comments. The disc contains 18 tracks by the bands that made
up Auburn’s roster in the eighties, mostly from the Cleveland area. A few
tracks make their first ever appearance on this disc, including a live version
of Destructor’s signature tune, a new song by Breaker taken from a recent demo,
advance tracks from Aftershok, Real Steel, and Wretch’s upcoming albums on the
label, and archival demo tracks from Black Death and Havoc. Several other
tracks, though previously released on vinyl, make their first appearances on CD
here. There are a few bands on here that I don’t care for, but all the acts
display solid musicianship and songwriting abilities. Old fans will get a nice
trip down memory lane, and younger listeners will get a good introduction to
what they missed. (Bob Ignizio)