The Drums – Self-titled (Moshi Moshi/Island)
The Drums veer between early 80s postpunk/New Wave and early-2000s hipster imitation. Specific comparisons from the more recent camp: Bloc Party; Phoenix; Peter, Bjorn and John. Some songs are kinda catchy, but they don’t inspire repeated listens as the aforementioned bands did. Halfway decent, but only halfway.
Heaven Shall Burn – Invictus (Century Media)
The latest from these German metal warriors has an excellent production sound, with particularly brutal vocals. Unfortunately, their continual reliance on mid-paced riffing makes the songs blend together after a while. One song on a mix will sound great, but the album as a whole will tax attention spans.
photo by Amanda Gold
Monster Violence – Parasites (myspace.com/monsterviolence)
Local kids mix Genghis Tron’s synth-grind style with Job For A Cowboy’s death-metalcore. The clean vocals cry out for pitch-correction, and the growly vocals are also pretty obnoxious, but the music has some merit. They haven’t transcended mediocrity yet, but the potential to do so is there.
The Drums – Self-titled (Moshi Moshi/Island)
The Drums veer between early 80s postpunk/New Wave and early-2000s hipster imitation. Specific comparisons from the more recent camp: Bloc Party; Phoenix; Peter, Bjorn and John. Some songs are kinda catchy, but they don’t inspire repeated listens as the aforementioned bands did. Halfway decent, but only halfway.
Heaven Shall Burn – Invictus (Century Media)
The latest from these German metal warriors has an excellent production sound, with particularly brutal vocals. Unfortunately, their continual reliance on mid-paced riffing makes the songs blend together after a while. One song on a mix will sound great, but the album as a whole will tax attention spans.
photo by Amanda Gold
Monster Violence – Parasites (myspace.com/monsterviolence)
Local kids mix Genghis Tron’s synth-grind style with Job For A Cowboy’s death-metalcore. The clean vocals cry out for pitch-correction, and the growly vocals are also pretty obnoxious, but the music has some merit. They haven’t transcended mediocrity yet, but the potential to do so is there.
