With temps climbing past 100 and the sad news that Tiger Woods is done for the year it's time to put on my board shorts, grab the sand wedge, toss out the floating pool targets, and work on my short game. So which CD's stay afloat and which CD's get used as pool targets?
Saving Abel
Self titled
www.savingabel.com
Style (rock)
This CD starts out awesome with two very catchy and commercial songs, "New Tattoo" and "Addicted." The first song is up-tempo with a gutter crunch sound in the guitars, solid vocals, and quality musicianship. The second song is slower, more along the lines of a ballad but not as sappy. The problem I have with this CD, which now has me searching for the recycle bin, is that it doesn't continue with the same punch and drive of the first song, and by the fourth track the songs descend into mindless meandering of emotional backwash. This downward emotional spiral is not what I expected from a five piece band where four of the members have some form of lip/chin piercing and an off black dingy CD jacket. Not to mention a hot chick's ass in tight jeans on the cover. I dig the jewelry and imagery layout, and maybe I'm judging a book by its cover, but if that's the band image you're flaunting then the song's have to tie it all together. These songs remind me of the Atkins diet hold the meat and the bun, but I'll take a piece of lettuce. I've been snake bitten again.
Rating 2 (only because of the first two songs)
Stanfour
"Wild Life"
www.stanfour.com
Style (alternative / rock)
As a photographer I like BW shots with a scratched up look and photo shoots taken in desolate, empty places. However, the inside jacket band photo with the dirty face concept makes the guys look like they're all suffering from some hideous skin disease. Either make the dirt intentional and really mess up the faces or leave the dirt on the ground. As for the songs, this is your typical (reprocessed, repackaged for the 100th time) run of the mill overly polished, overly produced CD with all the songs pushed into the high end, lots of harmonies, writing lacking the slightest form of true emotion (but plenty of forced emotion), sounding like it's being played through cymbals and tambourines (a high end rattle sound). This sound may attract the typical Gossip Girl MySpacer types but listen closely and you'll hear the crickets.
Rating 1
Absolution
"The Revelation Diaries"
www.myspace.com/absolution
Style (metal / hardcore)
The first thing grabbing me about this CD is the blister causing, neck brace assault of the double kick drums. This dude (Eric Jackson) is beating the hell out of his kit. Musically there's a lot more singing than I expected for something hardcore, and I detect a little Paul Di Anno (Iron Maiden's first singer) in there too. The vocal range is mid-high, which is throwing me off a bit, but at least it does contain the typical screams of someone having a nail driven through their foot. Unfortunately I'm not digging the grooves in the guitars at all, and feel there are too many mismatched styles within this CD. I'm not sure live this stuff could be pulled together enough either for the headbanger's and mosher's to really get into.
Rating 1 ½ (only because I dig the drummer)
Don Ross and Andy McKee
"The Thing That Came From Somewhere"
www.donrossonline.com and www.andymckee.com
Style (Instrumental Guitar)
A few words I would use to describe this CD: easy, smooth, relaxing, the comfort of a warm bath, spiritual, emotional, opening of mind and spirit, stress reducing. I put this on while at work and instantly my stress dissipated. I'd liken this to being lost in a densely wooded forest, so clogged with trees you need a headlamp at noon, only to find your way into an expansive alpine meadow set ablaze by the illumination of sunshine off the colorful wildflowers and the scent of pine wafting through the breeze.
Rating 3
United States of Consciousness
Self titled
www.merokeskyrecords.com
Style (compilation - Blues, Pop, Folk, Roots)
This is a 20 song CD compilation combining music in a five song set blending four different genre's (blues / pop / folk / roots). The overall flow of the music is steady and mellow with a 60's / 70's vibe dealing with subject matter including peace, war, politics, and social causes. Additionally, all proceeds from this CD collaboration will be donated to the Tom Breslin Foundation to provide music education and scholarships for disadvantaged students. I'm personally not a fan of compilation CD's and typically run away fast from this style of music. However, I've heard the CD producers interviewed on KPFK (NPR radio), a station which has enlightened me on many occasions to music I didn't think I would like, and I put aside my personal musical dislikes, and after playing through the CD a few times I've found that it's got a couple of songs that stuck in my head. Not to mention the more I listened to it the more it grew on me.
Rating 2 ½
Sinister Music Inc. com
Screaming to be Heard Compilation series
www.sinistermusicinc.com
Style (Compilation - Metal, Rock, Indie)
Like I said before, I normally don't get into compilation CD's, but I recognize the benefit these CD's possess with opening doors for many bands which may never be heard had they not been included with some other more known bands. Case in point, the success Ozzfest has had on numerous careers based upon this vary principle. And just like the bowl of Wheaties that is full of healthy vitamins and minerals, this compilation CD is filled with hard hitting, pulse pounding, fist raising, mosh pit inciting, full blown in your face metal. A plethora of howler monkey / nail through the foot vocals abound throughout; someone better check the rain forest for missing animals. And I can't overlook the skin shredding, bleed to the bone guitar work overflowing within this CD, nor the thundering drums which had to have resulted in numerous drum heads being replaced (clean up in aisle 5).
Rating 3 ½ (strong CD, especially liked the track by The Heroine)
