TAC – 17.5
Anthrax –Bare 6.5 2 0.5 9
UFO – Timothy 6 2 0.5 8.5
I really, REALLY liked the Anthrax song. I’m not a huge fan of theirs at all, and honestly can’t name one John Bush song of theirs, but this really hit home (and I really liked the setup; you’re not kidding, the first song DOES set the tone for the second). If you played me “Bare” and said “who is this?” I wouldn’t have guessed Anthrax in 200 guesses. This was really good, nuanced, and with feel (all things I think Anthrax is missing). As for the UFO; I’ve heard nightmares about the “space rock” of the first two albums, and since I’m not going to see the “Mick Bolton Group” this spring with his original singers, it kind of scared me off. But I liked that song. Not as much as the first one, but it had a real early “Kiss” feel that I could get into. I might have to check some of that stuff out. Plus kudos for having a song named after you.
FIREWINGS/KATTLEOX – 16.0
Power Quest – Better Days 5.5 2 0.5 8
Power Quest – Children Of The Dream 5.5 2 0.5 8
I can so relate to having “that song” that gets you through. Kind of an anthem of sorts, right? Mine is probably “Sole Survivor” by Asia. Not going to lie: the music is good – pretty good – but not great; I don’t mind the production or what some would say is “cheese” or “shine” – hell, I LOVE Night Ranger and even latter day Cheap Trick. It just didn’t have the angle that grabbed me and said “HEY! Listen to this!” Again, though that’s not to say it’s bad, and I’m sure with more than a week of listening, it might have found it’s way dug in. So in short, good, solid, if not unremarkable.
V-CHLORTHO – 16.5
Marah In The Mainsail – The Traveling Man 5.5 2 0.5 8
Marah In The Mainsail – Bone Crown 6 2 0.5 8.5
As an aside, “names” and “titles” mean something to me. I hate dumb band names or overly cute names (for some reason “Death Cab For Cutie” gets under my skin, as do the rash of bands with semi-random “adjective, adjective, noun”, like “Olivia Tremor Control” or “Neural Milk Hotel”). I like EPIC. “Led Zeppelin”. “Iron Maiden”. So it’s with respect that I say “Marah In The Mainsail” is cool AF. I liked the first song a lot, but I really really grew to like the second song. This band is also described all over the internet as “cinematic”; the difference between them and “Ostura” must be “Minneapolis” vs. “Lebanon”, but whatever; the songs were evocative, none moreso than the second one. I technically liked the first one better, but the second was a real piece of art and so got a half point bump. Thank you for your explanation (I would have gotten the first song, not the second; please don’t burn my forest to the ground!).
ROMDRUMS – 19.0
Ice Fish – Human Hardware 6 2 1 9
Romdrums – Case Study 7 2 1 10
I’ll start right off and say I’m a little iffy on the first track; not because I don’t like it, or because it’s bad, but because I don’t know where it falls relative to the second song, or a completely “third party” song. In any event, the performance is strong, and I like that you’ve put yourself out there. Now, the second song… let me be clear: the score is largely based on the creativity of sharing your art. But having said that, I really dug that second song. You referred to samples of ELP and Floyd, and to be honest, I still can’t find them, but I really like the Gabriel/Tool feel of that song. I’m not the hugest Tool fan, but I like them (and have all their records) but the part I like best of Tool is the intangible; I LOVE LOVE LOVE the post-Thrak Crimson, which is very heavily influenced by Tool (or should I say, a focus by Fripp on those elements that influenced Tool). I think a lot of people think “Gabriel” and focus on the WOMAD and Sting-related hipster activist pop (you know what I mean: U2, REM, Sting, Collins, Gabriel… the 80’s/90’s politically aware rock). But there’s a dark metal vibe to some of Gabriel’s work that came through in Bruce Dickinson’s solo work (he has a “lost album” around the time of Balls To Picasso that he calls “the Gabriel album”) and in some of Tool’s work, and that’s a big part of this song. I would listen to this outside of a roulette, and that’s high praise (not from me, but in general).