This
band probably slays live. I can tell this just by listening to the CD. There's
just something about a great live band that's so hard to capture in the
studio...just ask the Grateful Dead. The Dead had only a few brilliant studio
albums in their multi-decade career, but was one of the best live bands ever.
Well, listening to the Rick Ray Band, I can hear a similar "caged animal" vibe,
where the group sounds like they could just break out if they didn't have to cut
their songs short for the sake of a studio length piece. The musicianship is
top notch, and the instrumentation is insanely polished. If only they could
stretch out for 10, 15, even 20 minutes, I just KNOW that they'd really take me
somewhere. However, the studio cuts sound like a snippet of a great performance
taken out of context. My favorite track is in fact an instrumental called
"Modified Universe". It really left me wanting more. Rick is one kick ass
guitarist, however, and this CD makes great "sit back and toke one" music to
listen to while celebrating the good life. I just have one request, guys...GIVE
US A LIVE CD NEXT TIME! The Heathen Hippy gives it three bong hits. (Taliesin
Govannon)
The
Sexrays make powerful, moving music...powerfully annoying music that moves me to
hit the "stop" button on my CD player. This is the kind of pretentious
alt-posing that gives indie music a bad name. Look, I'm all for quirky music
that's fun and off-beat, but I still have standards. No matter how much
something's just meant to be background music at college parties, it still has
to have decent songwriting and execution. The riffs on this CD, however, are
re-tread Ramones rip-offs, and the vocals grate like nails on a blackboard. I
normally love female vocals, but this stuff reminds me of what the B-52s would
sound like hyped up on meth. Actually, the vocals annoyed me more than
anything else. The cover medley "Can't Find My Boots (a cross
between "These Boots Are Made For Walkin" and "Can't Find My Way Home") started
off well, and I actually thought that I could enjoy the track, but the vocals ruined
it at the end by just trying too hard to be weird... the singer winds up coming off like
Margaret Hamilton on helium. I have nothing against bizarre punk-pop
music...hell, I still have a copy of ‘A Date With Elvis’ by the Cramps floating
around somewhere on vinyl...but this was agony to get through. Checking out
this band on the web, I see that their live show is quite a spectacle. Well, it
better be, because otherwise this outfit would have all of the appeal of a Sigue
Sigue Sputnik tribute band. The Heathen Hippy gives it negative one methed out
singer. (Taliesin Govannon)
Brutal...if
there's one word to discribe Skarp, it's fucking brutal! Alternative Tentacles
has served us up one punishing slab of pissed-off aggression in ‘Requiem’,
Skarp's debut CD for the label. What's really amazing is that the singer, Renae
Louise Betts, has more balls than 90% of the extreme metal singers out there,
and she's a woman! While there's a hint of punk anarchy on this CD, it's really
the most extreme blend of grinding death core to hit my ears in a long, long
time. This band looks young on the CD insert, but it doesn't show in their
sound. They're tight, focused, and play with a blazing intensity that bands
who've slogged it out for a decade would be envious of. My only critique is
that the songwriting could stand to be more varied. Some songs seemed to blend
into each other. However, give this crew a few years to pull all of the pieces
together, and they'll be unstoppable. One of the best debuts this year. The
Heathen Hippy gives it four slit wrists. (Taliesin Govannon)
I put in
this CD (CDR if we are being honest here) and I was immediately interested. I
like bands that sound like they record their albums inside a garbage can - and
seriously that’s not sarcasm. There is no track listing so I can’t tell you
which songs are my favorite, but I can tell you number 2 made me want to see the
band live. I expect great dance moves. I’ve heard they are really good live, but
haven’t got the chance to see them. Anyway, you don’t care, you wanna know if
you should listen to these guys. So here ya go, the answer is yes. They are
good. The songs on their album are all clearly different, each with different
tempos and patterns. Many of the songs have clear beginnings, middles, and ends,
which I enjoy. The drummer is really good… well, the music in general works
well. It’s cohesive, it’s tight, and it works well together (if you didn’t get
that from cohesive and tight). They are the new sound that sounds like the old
sound. The only problem I have really is the vocals. And to be honest, I think
the only problem I have with the vocals is the poor production. It’s hard to
hear unless he is screaming, and he doesn’t scream in every song. Wildcats are a
rock band, with a style that I appreciate and might even go as far as to say,
enjoy! (Feowyn A. MacKinnon)
This
band probably slays live. I can tell this just by listening to the CD. There's
just something about a great live band that's so hard to capture in the
studio...just ask the Grateful Dead. The Dead had only a few brilliant studio
albums in their multi-decade career, but was one of the best live bands ever.
Well, listening to the Rick Ray Band, I can hear a similar "caged animal" vibe,
where the group sounds like they could just break out if they didn't have to cut
their songs short for the sake of a studio length piece. The musicianship is
top notch, and the instrumentation is insanely polished. If only they could
stretch out for 10, 15, even 20 minutes, I just KNOW that they'd really take me
somewhere. However, the studio cuts sound like a snippet of a great performance
taken out of context. My favorite track is in fact an instrumental called
"Modified Universe". It really left me wanting more. Rick is one kick ass
guitarist, however, and this CD makes great "sit back and toke one" music to
listen to while celebrating the good life. I just have one request, guys...GIVE
US A LIVE CD NEXT TIME! The Heathen Hippy gives it three bong hits. (Taliesin
Govannon)
The
Sexrays make powerful, moving music...powerfully annoying music that moves me to
hit the "stop" button on my CD player. This is the kind of pretentious
alt-posing that gives indie music a bad name. Look, I'm all for quirky music
that's fun and off-beat, but I still have standards. No matter how much
something's just meant to be background music at college parties, it still has
to have decent songwriting and execution. The riffs on this CD, however, are
re-tread Ramones rip-offs, and the vocals grate like nails on a blackboard. I
normally love female vocals, but this stuff reminds me of what the B-52s would
sound like hyped up on meth. Actually, the vocals annoyed me more than
anything else. The cover medley "Can't Find My Boots (a cross
between "These Boots Are Made For Walkin" and "Can't Find My Way Home") started
off well, and I actually thought that I could enjoy the track, but the vocals ruined
it at the end by just trying too hard to be weird... the singer winds up coming off like
Margaret Hamilton on helium. I have nothing against bizarre punk-pop
music...hell, I still have a copy of ‘A Date With Elvis’ by the Cramps floating
around somewhere on vinyl...but this was agony to get through. Checking out
this band on the web, I see that their live show is quite a spectacle. Well, it
better be, because otherwise this outfit would have all of the appeal of a Sigue
Sigue Sputnik tribute band. The Heathen Hippy gives it negative one methed out
singer. (Taliesin Govannon)
Brutal...if
there's one word to discribe Skarp, it's fucking brutal! Alternative Tentacles
has served us up one punishing slab of pissed-off aggression in ‘Requiem’,
Skarp's debut CD for the label. What's really amazing is that the singer, Renae
Louise Betts, has more balls than 90% of the extreme metal singers out there,
and she's a woman! While there's a hint of punk anarchy on this CD, it's really
the most extreme blend of grinding death core to hit my ears in a long, long
time. This band looks young on the CD insert, but it doesn't show in their
sound. They're tight, focused, and play with a blazing intensity that bands
who've slogged it out for a decade would be envious of. My only critique is
that the songwriting could stand to be more varied. Some songs seemed to blend
into each other. However, give this crew a few years to pull all of the pieces
together, and they'll be unstoppable. One of the best debuts this year. The
Heathen Hippy gives it four slit wrists. (Taliesin Govannon)