By David Thomas
May 4, 2004
There is a common music industry term called "Demo Demolition" that
describes a session of quickly sifting through the piles of demo recordings
that A&R executives and others in the biz routinely get. I doubt A&R
departments exist in the same way as they once did but the Demo Demolition
also sifted down to music journalist inundated with local records that for
the most part weren't any good. Now that I don't deal in local music, I'm
spared the piles of often disturbingly bad amateur records. However they've
been replaced with dozens of independently released albums that flood my
mailbox. Often there is a gem or two but usually there are too many that
leave little or no impression. The discs mentioned below are actually the bigger releases I've
gotten that fall into this category. Some of the others are so bad I don't
want to publicly discuss their faults. So these discs turn out to have more
good points than bad, but they still might not normally get noticed or
reviewed here.
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FAVEZ, Bellefontaine Avenue (Doghouse Records)
Like their Doghouse labelmates MY HOTEL YEAR, FAVEZ finds itself stuck
clearly in the middle of the indie rock pack with no distinguishing
features. Luckily for them, their experience and talent keeps this latest
effort slightly above the surrounding muck, but not by much. If you put this
disc in a CD changer with MHY and half the other CDs I get daily you would
not be able to tell the bands apart. Just another example of a disc that I
put in, listen to entirely and then promptly forget.
PETER SEARCY, Couch Songs (Initial Records)
Former BIG WHEELer Peter Searcy returns with a solo acoustic effort. Before
everyone runs screaming from the room at the mention of "solo acoustic," take
a breath or two, count to ten and give Searcy a chance. Obviously fans of
BIG WHEEL fans will really appreciate this mellow disc of well-written tunes. But
it also screams of maturity absent from most indie-records. I doubt teens
would be ogling over each other with Couch Songs playing on their
computer, but for those out there that enjoy simple melody and need a
respite from agonizing nights at the local rock club this might be the right
medicine. Even though Searcy's voice is distinctive and pleasant enough some
of the lyrics just sound a bit too much like gigantic rock anthems,
"Gravity." It's an odd relationship with the intimacy of the record. But at
least Searcy can string together more than just a few lines of meaningless
imagery. It wouldn't be hard to imagine seeing Searcy write huge number one hits for
really shallow pop acts. Let's hope he finds success on his own.
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MY HOTEL YEAR, The Curse (Doghouse Records)
Not to be confused with the amazing upcoming disc from ATREYU, The
Curse is Orlando group MY HOTEL YEAR's follow up to the grossly overlooked
Composition of Ending and Phrasing. Amidst label-jumping,the boys
land on Doghouse and their sound has lost some intensity in exchange for
trendy slick production that will leave them lost with about a dozen other
bands on the scene. Tracks like "Everyday" are solid rockers but leave
little lasting impression.
LOCAL H, Whatever Happened To P.J. Soles (Studio Records)
The real title of this album should be Whatever Happened to Local H?
This hard-rocking album stands out in this crop with its barebones approach,
devastating drums and raspy rock vocals. While the band may no longer be
cool or as hip as it was, playing its alterna-rock hits, the duo can still
blow away most of the competition. And if anyone had the choice of going to
a club to see a half dozen indie rock bands with four-word names or LOCAL H,
it's apparent the line should form right behind PJ Soles.
BLACK CROSS, Widows Bloody Widows (Initial Records)
Just like FAVEZ and MY HOTEL YEAR signify the stagnation of indie rock, BLACK
CROSS is one of the countless bands in the new wave of hardcore crossing my
desk. I don't understand the phenomena but some of the bands are very good.
The new ATREYU album that doesn't come out for a month but I can't stop
listening to, is far and above one of the best discs I've heard of the
genre. BLACK CROSS aims at the punk aspect of hardcore, unlike the thrash
metal of ATREYU, and they pull it off decently. It sounds raw but not
amateurish. Intense but not headache generating. The vocals are clearly
audible even if screamed over the crashing mix of guitars and drums.
Widows Bloody Widows will get to stick around my CD collection for
awhile after this column runs but like most of the hardcore I get won't be
something that ever makes my top ten list.
NEKROMANTIX, Dead Girls Don't Cry (Hellcat Records)
A first glance at this disc and I knew I wouldn't like it. Death metaphors
with a rockabilly band? Could things be much worse? And even though the
whole rockabilly revival has thankfully been squashed as a mainstream genre,
this band has a certain level of talent and a unique enough approach to pull
it off successfully. There's the prerequisite stand-up bass etc but the
songs are creative right from the start of "Backstage Pass To Hell." Yeehaw.
Add that to an impressive production and a dozen more quality songs and the
NEKROMANTIX deserve some attention.
Next week: Cool albums from DIVISION OF LAURA LEE, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE and
more.
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