"October, November", Black Cat Music
"October, November", Black Cat Music, Lookout Records, 2004
This is a foursome whose record company promotes them as “blending modern rock’n’roll, garage, and punk,” and “intelligent trashy punk rock.” In other words, pretty much like every other band putting out CDs – with one difference.
The music is mostly rhythm based. Denny Martin on drums and Omar Perez on bass drive most of the cuts at a brisk speed, while electric guitarist Travis Dutton chords in the background, breaking out for an occasional limp psychedelic solo. Brady Baltezore adds nearly as much sound with his acoustic guitar, along with contributing vocals that are relentlessly off key.
The surprise here is the lyrics. They can hardly be understood, which is of course not unusual in rock. And all of them are printed on the CD sleeve, which for most bands means that they suck.
However, the lyrics written by Baltezore are great. For example, from “The Jet Trash”: “bathing in the velvet wave of heat/a promise to the flame apology/I waited long enough to burn you down to the ground.” Baltezore actually brings a different perspective to well worn themes like relationships and traveling with a band.
The ending words on the CD, on “Kiss Until Kissed,” are “your absence darkens the room/awaken grasping/your absence forms a vacuum/kid I am gasping.” Much of the poetry is obscure, but personally I can take that for the privilege of listening to a rock CD that does not, for example, use the word “baby” even once.
The music is not particularly innovative, but it moves energetically, and there is stylistic variety in the songs. The few slow cuts are good enough to retain your interest. And after you read the lyrics, the songs sound better with repeated listening.
- Dave Howell
(This article first appeared in the FMSound music site.)
This is a foursome whose record company promotes them as “blending modern rock’n’roll, garage, and punk,” and “intelligent trashy punk rock.” In other words, pretty much like every other band putting out CDs – with one difference.
The music is mostly rhythm based. Denny Martin on drums and Omar Perez on bass drive most of the cuts at a brisk speed, while electric guitarist Travis Dutton chords in the background, breaking out for an occasional limp psychedelic solo. Brady Baltezore adds nearly as much sound with his acoustic guitar, along with contributing vocals that are relentlessly off key.
The surprise here is the lyrics. They can hardly be understood, which is of course not unusual in rock. And all of them are printed on the CD sleeve, which for most bands means that they suck.
However, the lyrics written by Baltezore are great. For example, from “The Jet Trash”: “bathing in the velvet wave of heat/a promise to the flame apology/I waited long enough to burn you down to the ground.” Baltezore actually brings a different perspective to well worn themes like relationships and traveling with a band.
The ending words on the CD, on “Kiss Until Kissed,” are “your absence darkens the room/awaken grasping/your absence forms a vacuum/kid I am gasping.” Much of the poetry is obscure, but personally I can take that for the privilege of listening to a rock CD that does not, for example, use the word “baby” even once.
The music is not particularly innovative, but it moves energetically, and there is stylistic variety in the songs. The few slow cuts are good enough to retain your interest. And after you read the lyrics, the songs sound better with repeated listening.
- Dave Howell
(This article first appeared in the FMSound music site.)