...No Device...Falstaff...Mirabilia...The New Grand...Skeptical Cats...
NO DEVICE/WOWFLUTTERFLY/Nupenthe (CD)
Smalltown, Michigan rock recorded in a lo-fi setting, these guys play a
slightly unbearable version of some kind of emotional alternative rock. Sorry
boys, as a Michigan native I support hometown bands, but the songs drag, the
production sucks (this stuff doesn't work lo-fi), and the lead vocalist
struggles on the songs where his voice isn't processed. It's the typical band
someone's older brother fronted and struggled with, envisioning grandiose
musical adoration after memorizing all the liner notes in Nirvana and Smashing
Pumpkins CDs. -- df
Falstaff / Falstaff II / Homestead (CD)
Falstaff II is a strange record. I think it's best described as sort of
"Free-Jazz"-era-Ornette-Coleman-does-the-greatest-hits-of-pre-country-era-Ween-ish. The song lyrics here are hilarious -- made even more so by
vocalist Mitch Straeffer's spastic approach to singing and the bizzare
orchestration accompanying them. Although comparable in attitude, this
stuff is much too twisted to be silly-pop. So if the Nerf Herders just
don't give you the buzz they used to . . . (wink). --nw
Editor's Note: I believe Noah has won this week's highly coveted Longest Hyphenated Phrase award -- gz
Reviewer's Note: I believe what George meant to say was "Longest-Hyphenated-Phrase award" -- nw
Editor's Addendum: No, I meant to say "Longest-Hyphenated-Word-Used-By-A-Smart-Arse" award -- gz
Groovy, kinda funky and a smidge retro, this Italian import combines the
Hammond-organic sound of late-eighties Madchester fare with
contemporary techno-influenced buzzsaw-guitar pop. It's rather
disconcertingly good, although the Italian accents take a bit of getting
used to, contextually speaking. Oh, and there are a couple of boring
Oasis-y tracks, but they're easy enough to ignore. And on top of all that, it's supposedly the 11th Best Italian Rock Record of 1996 (a compliment on a par with "Second Best Egyptian Whisky"). -- gz
THE NEW GRAND/SELF-TITLED/Sonic
Unyon (CD)
With catchy hooks, happy riffs and enough pep in their punk to leave the kids doing
the pogo all the hell over the place, The New Grand offer a brand new
full-length album of bubblegum rock in the same vein as indie-rock standards
like Superchunk. What the Canadian quartet lack in originality (you won't find
much beyond standard format songs, including the one-chord solo jams at the end
of each song), they make up in toe-tap appeal. These guys are so excited about
their sound, the cd boasts a walloping 24 tracks (with tracks 13-24 being an
exact clone of the first 12). -- df
It starts out promisingly enough -- something like a bar-band version of
They Might Be Giants -- but Record Record devolves into...well, a
middling effort from a moderately quirky bar band. These Cats (sorry)
give evidence of being a tight live ensemble with a tendency toward
enjoyable, Queen-style bombast, but indifferent production and a few too
many seventies-style ballads keep them from landing on their feet
(cringe). -- gz