| September, 1999. Volume 42, No. 05 | Arts |
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CD Reviews
So, this latest disc from Bob Mould is strangely...what? This isnıt Bob Mould? Could have fooled me.
Blinker the Star are a Canadian threesome whose lead singer/guitarist, Jordon Zadorozny hails from the smallish city of Pembroke, Ontario. While little Jordon was toddling around his parentsı musical instrument store, he took time to learn his Sugar and Hüsker Dü records.
The practice shows in this recording. The lead single, ³Below the Sliding Doors², is sort of a Bob Mould-y kind of melody introduced to a hallucinogenic Tears For Fears track, and it sets the stage for the rest of the disc.
And that is the strength for the whole album; the combination of gritty, dissonant rawkı, together with the Odds - style pop sensibility, like in ³I Am A Fraction² with trippy kind of piano-and guitar driven songs like ³Below the Sliding Doors² and ³Thereıs Nowhere You Can Hide². At times, the mix of the two is a bit dull and uneven, but there really is enough to call it a good albumı.
But this obviously isnıt the greatest album, or even one that would lift them from semi-obscurity, but it will look good in a couple of years when they learn how to properly combine their infleunces into a new style.
By Corey Atkinson
Time to Fly is dunkıs debut album but they are no strangers to the business. Their first musical attempt was as the band Starkicker.
Various new elements have been added, some of which are a member change and the lead singer, Ben Dunk, concentrating more heavily on his songwriting. Lyrically simple, dunk expresses feelings most listeners have felt at some time.
³Crowdsurfing² deals with being discouraged and hoping that things will pick up, ³Personal Assistant² is about being stuck as a glorified coffee boy, and ³Just Felt Right² talks about being broke and living in a crappy apartment with the lines ³weıve got no more cable and weıre broke, cardboard house goes further in decay². The disc is easy to listen to and would mellow you out if you spent the whole day reading textbooks. The sound is comparable to that of Swirl 360 but like this band, a sound that can be forgettable.
By Sheri Block
Spanning from 1989-1997, during which time six albums were released, Hit Parade provides exactly what it advertises.
Whether you are already a S.O.T.W. fan or a fan of the genre looking for a representative collection, the 18 tracks selected for Hit Parade are sure to provide both satisfaction and enough drinking songs for any kitchen shaker. Although the necessary anthem - type tunes such as ³The Crawl², ³Home for a Rest², and ³Save This House² are here, there is also a more subdued atmosphere on ³Goodbye Grace² and ³Rites of Man². In addition to 14 familiar sounding tracks this disc also includes four previously unreleased tracks recorded with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra including the aforementioned ³The Crawl² along with ³Venice is Sinking², ³Political², and the ever-popular ³Thatıs Amore². These tracks not only increase the interest level, they also add a layer of texture to the presentation as a whole, demonstrating the ability of the band to combine various musical sounds and arrangements.
All the while, they maintain an ability to produce entertaining, foot-stomping music such as ³PuttinıUp With The Joneses,² and ³D For Democracy² that would be an essential addition to the glove compartment of any vehicle for a long road-trip.
By Mike Whitehead
³Wreckage - My mind insecure- All the time². These are the opening words of the new Sevendust album.
But from the sound of the new album, they have nothing to be insecure about. The new album is pretty good. The riffs are quite simple (and sometimes repetitive) and complement the layered vocals rather well. There are a couple of collaborations on the album including ³Skin² with Skunk Anasie and ³Chino Moreno² with Deftones (which should do a lot to dispel the myth that Sevendust are the same as Deftones and Korn). Some of the songs on the album would probably be better in the context of a concert setting. An example of this are the pointless lyrics in the song ³Home² (³From left to right² is repeated four times with no real purpose). Still, other songs are surprising. The band displays their musical talent with the instrumental track called ³Insecure² and the sound of vocalist Lajon Witherspoom gets a chance to shine with the sweet melodies in the song ³Licking Cream². Bottom line: if you like Deftones, you will like this album.
By Scott Turgeon
Itıs been two and a half years since Our Lady Peaceıs second disc Clumsy was released. As the anticipations and expectations grew for the third, OLP assured us that the wait was necessary in order to put out an album worthy of their name.
With Happiness...Is Not A Fish That You Can Catch they have done just that.
Although Happiness... is not as much of an experimental re-invention as Clumsy was from Naveed (released in 1994) it does maintain the lyrical and musical quality set out by Clumsy.
Characteristic of other Raine Maida songs, the tracks on this album contain intricate lyrics that often require a deeper examination to understand their significance. But the melodies do stand on their own so if all you want to take from the songs at a particular time is something to sing along to or hum throughout the day, it is possible.
Maida comments that the album as a whole deals with human obsession.
³One Man Army², the first single, expresses the struggle for individuality, while many of the other songs address feelings of unrest and confusion about the world, while trying to reach out for something better.
This is one of the few albums Iıve heard in a long time that I enjoyed listening to from beginning to end.
³Waited² is definitely one of the highlights as well as ³Thief², the track closest to a ballad, where Maidaıs enrapturing voice shines.
The only thing I would have liked to hear more of was Maidaıs characteristic range of vibrato quivers but on the whole, this is an excellent album that I would highly recommend.
By Sheri Block
I wish I could say something positive about this cd, but I really canıt. So Iıll stick to the negative aspects because, my God, there are lots of them. There are only seven tracks and I opine that thatıs seven too many.
True, a blank cd wouldnıt have done much in the way of a cd review, but it would have meant easier listening.
Initially, I did feel that it had promise, but after several moments of listening, promise was all I felt. Itıs hard to describe the lead singerıs voice. Nasal and whiny is all that comes to mind.
Reading the lyrics afterwards, I asked myself if this was the same stuff, because the writing is fairly accomplished. Itıs too bad Cicero felt the need to sing.
The repetition of melodies becomes tiresome at best and when the background music does somehow show slight potential, that potential is quickly drowned out by Ciceroıs melancholic voice.
By Matt Brejak
Jump! That is exactly what youıre going to want to do when you push play.
This Californian, high energy, Alterna-Punk group is trying to bring music back to itıs sole purpose. To ³entertain and save the world², as said by Portable.
Chance, Gus Ciceri, Brian Levy and Jeff Menke have given a load of artistic energy to create this, their debut album, Secret Life.
The poetical lyrics donıt embrace world negativism, but are not overly bubbly or superficial.
³We like to subliminally attack people by disguising pop songs as really heavy music,² says vocalist, Chance.
This attack, Secret Life, has high energy virus beginning with track one, ³Whatıs Wrong².
It spreads through tales of love affairs, pleasures and loud tunes. With their amps set on attack, Portable wants you to jump up and get more for your music.
By Paula Pacey
Like the movie, the soundtrack is also somewhat haunting but at times tries to be soothing and comfortable.
James Newton Howardıs selection of music should be complimented since it suits the movie well and has some little known tracks from well - known bands such as Moist, Wild Strawberries and Dishwalla. ³Paint it Black² by Gob, a remake of the Rolling Stones hit, is actually decent compared to other bands that prefer to gut older songs rather that celebrate them.
Back to the haunting sounds -tracks such as ³Empty Couch², and ³Nightmare Lovemaking², are especially effective in establishing the mood if you have seen the movie. Holy Heebie-geebies! - well those parts were scary. Anywho, other songs on the disc are an ecletic bundle of pseudo-alternative music and blending sound effects.
By Heath Packman
I opened the press release to see this eerie headline: Tape found in Victimıs car releasedı.
Come on! So the premise for the non-soundtrack to the hit movie The Blair Witch Project is that the music on the disc is a reproduction of the tape that Josh (one of the three missing documentary-makers) made for the trip, later found in his abandoned car.
Are you scared yet? Well, wait until you here the music. Most of the music is electronic 80ıs type crap, that not only lacks terror, but is downright depressing. Skinny Puppyıs ³Draining Faces² repeats the same line over and over again, perhaps trying to capture in the listener the same monotonous craziness as the characters in the movie must have felt when they were eternally and inescapably lost. The Creaturesı ³Donıt Go To Sleep Without Me² and Type O Negativeıs ³Haunted² have good, scary titles, but the songs only horrific quality is that they continue for too long. The latter was over ten minutes long!
Over all, I found the disc did not do a thing for me. While I did have a good laugh over the tough ³hard core² front of the cheesey song ³God is God² by Laibach (ooh! Evil sounding!), I had expected ³Josh² to have had better taste. If ³Josh² was planning to put together records for a living before his untimely disappearance, the world is not so sad for his demise.
By Adrienne Gherasim
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August Everywhere
dunk
Spirit of the West
Sevendust
FEATURE DISC OF THE WEEK
Cicero 
Secret Life 
Stir of Echoes
Josh's Blair Witch Mix
Questions or comments? Email Erin Mazur, Technology Co-Ordinator.
