Farewell

Dear Audio Overflow Reader,

I regret to inform you that Jill, our writer of four months and a huge help to me in the day-to-day happenings of Audio Overflow, has decided that it is time for her to move on from this crazy endeavor.  In her short time with the blog, Jill brought musical opinions from a completely different side of the music spectrum and helped to expand the coverage of music on Audio Overflow.

I am truly appreciative of her help and wish her the best of luck in the future.  Thanks for everything, Jill.

For the time being, I will not be seeking to fill the spot vacated by Jill and will be taking over the Moods Feature that she helmed.  As always, I’ll keep you posted on any other happenings in the near future.  Thanks for reading.

–Cale

PS.  If you have any parting words for Jill, you can always leave a comment below.

myspace musc monday: After the Ground and You

If you are able to recall several weeks ago, I wrote about a young man by the name of Nick McKerl whose music showed promise, but was still lacking severely. Well, Nick has been kind enough to keep in contact with Audio Overflow, and has introduced me to some new music that he’s created.

After the Ground and You

Genre: Electro/Lounge
Location: Ile-de-France, France
Band Members: Nick
Influences: Phasmophobia and Scotomaphobia

The Short of It: Instrumental, electronic music that can be both soothing and invigorating.

Songs
“Jumping Ghost Runways” – A very relaxing electro song that mixes glitch production with very rich guitars and other instrumentation. There are smatterings of Jimmy Tamborello all over the place on this one and Nick mixes things up consistently to where the song never gets too boring or repetitive.

“Mercury Fields” – This one sounds like something that Chris Walla could’ve worked up had be been chosen to produce a Sigur Ros album. The guitars are especially reminiscent of the band’s sound from the “( )” record. There is a moment at about the 3:30 mark where the melody comes back in from a haunting piano “solo” where I felt that it would’ve just been best to leave it as is. But it’s still an impressive number.

“Curtain Call” (Sample) – As the name would suggest, this is just a short sample of a longer song (perhaps it’s not finished yet?). So far things are looking good, but I’m not making a definitive judgment until I can hear the entire thing.

“A Copper Film” – Again very reminiscent of Sigur Ros, this one sounds a lot like Song No. 3 from th “( )” album, especially the pianos. It’s a short, solemn song that doesn’t really go anywhere, but the musicality of it is enough to make me somewhat appreciative of it.

“For the Widows in Paradise, For the Fatherless in Ypsilanti” – I can’t honestly give this one an unbiased opinion seeing as how Sufjan Stevens is one of my favorite artists, and this is one of his best songs. The cover doesn’t come anywhere close to doing the original justice, but do they ever?

“Olson Read” – There’s a really annoying vocal track that talks over the entire song, which is a huge disappointment. The production and music is actually very impressive, but I can’t think of a song where a person talks through its entirety that I’ve ever been totally into.

The Long of It: Nick, I’m sorry to say that I enjoy your music a whole lot more when you’re not singing. That’s not a mean-spirited comment either, just an honest one. Your work in composing all of these songs proves your talent and leaves me entirely impressed. If you want my honest opinion, I’d focus on this aspect of your work and really aim to make it better than it already is. If you do need to add vocals (some songs just need vocals, you know?), don’t let them overpower the music. Let them be complementary and subtle. Good luck to you in your musical endeavors and keep me, and the Audio Overflow readers, posted on your new stuff.

Links:
After the Ground and You myspace Page

Avril Lavigne: Let Go

I know that Avril Lavigne isn’t really what you think of when you think of Alternative Rock, but hey, she is. Let Go is a fascinating debut album in that it’s completely original and mostly talented. I can remember the first time I’d heard this album. I’d never heard of her, but my brother had a bootleg copy of Let Go which he’d let me borrow when I came home from my first year at college. At first I thought she was in her early 20’s; a newer version of Alanis Morissette. When I learned she was barely a teenager, I was shocked. After all, she was so young and had such a powerful voice. I’m jumping ahead of myself though…

Let Go is one of my favorite albums by a female. Is it perfect, no. Is it without flaws, absolutely not. What it is, is a great representation of Avril the person and a wonderfully sung album. Songs like “Losing Grip” and “Unwanted” are Avril at her finest. They aren’t lyrically the best she has to offer, but they set the listener up for all of the other “tough” Avril music. The songs are angry and annoyed… classic Avril. That was the image that she chose to portray in the beginning (see album cover) and it worked. Tracks like “Complicated” and “Anything but Ordinary” are quirky little pieces that are at times a little cheesy, yet they portray the lighter side to Avril’s music. “Complicated” has a tremendously memorable chorus. “Why’d you have to go and make things so complicated” are lyrics that have been sung by moms and daughters alike, due to the song’s popularity not only rock stations, but also on mix hits stations. “Anything but Ordinary” also has a memorable chorus where Avril shows off the higher side of her range in a tale about wanting to do things in a not-so-average fashion. And really… would we expect anything less from her?

The songs “Mobile” and “Tomorrow” are two of my favorite songs on Let Go. However, they have nothing in common except the previous. “Mobile” is a peppy, clever track about Avril’s adolescence, but if not taken too literally is a moving for anyone. The happy feel that the song has to it, makes it stand apart from others on the album. If I’m not mistaken, this piece was featured in the romantic comedy, “Just Married”. Yet another example of how cheerful the song is. On the other hand, “Tomorrow” is a pretty ballad that upon hearing the first couple of notes sounds as if it will be unjustifiably stupid. I mean, the song begins with the word “and” (i.e. “…and I wanna believe you, when you tell me that it’ll be okay…”) Why “and”? Did we come in on the song in mid sentence? That little annoyance aside, the song is a great one. Although slower than most of the others, except “I’m with You”, this is definitely one of her most heartfelt and un-Avril tracks on Let Go …and I love it!

There are some certain, and possibly personal, downfalls to this album. “I’m With You” is not one of my favorite songs. It’s not that I feel it’s a bad song, but I think it’s very vague in it’s meaning. I can’t figure out for the life of me who she is singing to. The lyrics make her sound either like an abandoned orphan or a desperately lonely person. Either one is fine, but after 100+ listens, I still don’t know the answer. She sounds pretty though as she’s hitting those high notes. “My World” is cute, but doesn’t sound anything like Avril. It sounds more like a combination of Hillary Duff and Meredith Brooks. Sure, the voice sounds like Avril, but the content and melody of the song is overly peppy… something we’ve come to know she’s not. Again though, she sings it well – very well in fact, so I can’t complain too much.

My only two huge complaints on the album are the two dumbest tracks on the album: “Sk8er Boi” and “Nobody’s Fool”. I feel like both songs speak for their own stupidity, but since this is a review and I have to assume the reader has not heard the tracks, I will expound. “Sk8er Boi” is goofy because it’s all “punk” but the lyrics are pretty Disney. I suppose there’s nothing wrong with it if you want to see “Zack and Cody” singing the latest from Blink 182. Avril is just as weird in this song. You can expect to see this one in the next Pixar film if, unbeknownst to me, it hasn’t already made it there. As for “Nobody’s Fool”, someone should have told Avril that maybe flowing wasn’t her forte. Yep, you heard me correct. She “raps” on the verses of this song. Yet again, this one is lumped right into the same lame, childish category as “Sk8er Boi”. Doesn’t she know that when she is a no talent rapper, it’s not cool to say “damn”… it just becomes awkward. The only salvation for this song is that she has a nice sound when she sings the chorus. Definitely a young Alanis. So what on earth was her producer thinking when he said, “Oh yeah, that’s a wrap on the rap” ? It makes me angry.

All in all, Let Go is great, though I know the males in my life would run in the opposite direction if I encouraged them to listen to this album from start to finish. At the prospect of risking my “mysterious, somewhat autonomous” reputation on Audio Overflow, I’d venture to say that this album is one of my favorites. It’s not the best of the best, but it’s a pretty good debut… and for a young teenager? Well, I just can’t remember the last time I thought, “Man, if only I could get a copy of Lindsey Lohan’s new album”.

Key Tracks:
1. Losing Grip
2. Complicated
3. Mobile
4. Tomorrow
5. Anything but Ordinary

6 out of 10 stars

The Top 25 Alternative Rock Albums (Albums 5-1)

So after 4 weeks of counting down Audio Overflow’s Top 25 Alternative Rock Albums, we’ve finally made it to the Top 5. Be sure to let us know what we should have added and what we should have taken off.

#5. Our Lady Peace: Happiness Is Not A Fish That You Can Catch (1999)
Erin says: “A lot of the songs on this album are really unique and I truly get into them. I believe that Our Lady Peace’s uniqueness is what makes their music so entertaining and memorable. The majority of the songs on this album definitely fall into that category. “

Cale says: “This was one of the first albums that I can remember liking all the way through. Each song on it is fantastic and passionately performed by the band. They have not matched the heights reached on this album since.”

#4. Bush: Sixteen Stone (1994)
Erin says: “When I first saw the movie “Fear”, I remember thinking, “I want this soundtrack”, when someone next to me said, “just buy Sixteen Stone”. Well, I never did, but that never stopped me from listening to, singing to, and respecting the many wonderful works of Bush. Gavin Rosdale’s voice is one of my favorites and seemed to almost embody the concept of alternative rock…Or at least every 16 year old girl’s stereotype.”

Cale says: “Totally agree with Erin on that one. Gavin’s voice truly makes this album what it is. The amount of quality songs contained on it is nearly unparalleled in the genre. Still, if it weren’t for Gavin, I doubt anyone would’ve ever heard of this band.”

#3. Nirvana: Nevermind (1991)
Cale says: “I think that for the most part, Kurt Cobain is one of the most overhyped vocalists of all time. When it’s all said and done, he was downright terrible at vocals. Still, Nirvana was a band that started a music revolution, and Nevermind was truly ahead of its time.”

Erin says: “Well it’s no big secret that Nirvana is not one of my favorite bands…so why would I nominate them for the top 25? Well it’s simple. Grunge is one of the subgenres commonly associated with alternative rock and since Nirvana was a HUGE turning point away from hairbands of the 80’s, I respect them and this album. If not for this album (and this is heavily debated) I believe that music today would be entirely different. They were pioneers in the music industry…definitely innovators.”

#2. Pearl Jam: Ten (1991)
Jill says: “”Alive” was and always has been one of the most stiring songs ever. It’s the benchmark for a deep, dark story and I never took the chorus for anything inspirational. Sometimes being alive can be such a burden. “

Erin says: “Just awesome! There’s a reason why most alternative stations still play a good majority of “Ten’s” songs on the radio. They are still great songs over a decade later! I can’t think of one song on this album that I hate. I really feel like Pearl Jam and this album take home the prize for being the most unique.”

#1. Live: Throwing Copper (1994)
Cale says: “Words cannot accurately describe the greatness of this album. It came out when I was in middle school, and I have revered it highly ever since. “Pillar of Davidson” is one of my all-time favorite sing along songs and “Lightning Crashes” still sends chills down my spine. The greatness of Throwing Copper is only heightened by the sad truth that Live was never able to put together an album as solid as this ever again. But if there was an album on this list that deserved to be considered the greatest Alternative Rock album of all time, I’m happy it could be this one!”

Erin says: “If you’ve read my retro review on this album, then you already know my opinion. If you don’t like it, you probably don’t have ears. Throwing Copper is capable of stirring up many thoughts during it’s course of play time. I have yet to listen to it and not have an overwhelming appreciation of their talent. Definitely my favorite alternative album!”

Audio Overflow Turns Two!

On March 28, 2006, I wrote my very first music review for realsies.  The only people I expected to read it were a few close friends.  And I was right.

Two years later, I’m thrilled to say that Audio Overflow has grown to reach thousands of people each month.  Nowadays, Jill, Erin, and myself bring you much more than reviews.  We bring you videos, weekly Top 5 lists, playlists, and lots of opinions that you may or may not agree with.  

So I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Erin and Jill for their continued help, and for the regular readers who stop by here to read all this nonsense that we can’t help but write.

Thanks.

Mike McCarroll: At The Crossroads

When you receive an album from a relatively unknown artist, it’s always a surprise. You look at the album wondering what to expect from lyrics, instrumentation, and overall effect of the album. When I learned that Mike McCarroll’s album At The Crossroads was a fusion of country, rock and blues, I wasn’t sure what to make of it. I’m always a little bit hesitant when it comes to musical fusions, because it either works or it’s a complete dud. Having said that, lets get to the reason we’re all here…

For the most part, I like At The Crossroads purely for the fact that this album has great potential. While it’s not my favorite genres of music, it’s McCarroll’s heart and soul, and quite literally, stories from his life. You have to respect when an artist is not so formulated as to manufacture a song from the thoughts of, “I know this works, so I’ll do this” or “everyone else is doing that, so I will too”. While there are elements to this album that do not sound entirely original, it is my opinion that Mike McCarroll has indeed achieved originality.

One of the characteristics I like about this album is, it’s not all the same. So often, a band/artist will produce an album where every song is a carbon copy of the song prior. McCarroll’s tracks are very different from one another, both in content and sound. “Business Traveler Blues” and “Road Rage” are two songs that instantly become stories. They are both rugged, yet upbeat tracks that are entirely about what their titles claim; no metaphors here. What I love about these two songs in particular is their uniqueness. How many other songs have you heard dealing with the art of road rage? Personally, I’ve heard of one other and McCarroll’s is surpassing by miles.

Musically, both instrumentally and vocally, there are certain tracks that I enjoy more than others, particularly “Get It On”, “Saturday Night” and “House of Blues”. “Get It On” is probably my favorite song on this album because I love the different sounds in this composition. At it’s beginning, McCarroll sets off with a “talking” verse and then sings right into the chorus. The chorus is my favorite section as it reminds me of a good old southern, classic rock hit; it’s definitely a guitar driven song, which I’m quite fond of. “Saturday Night” is strangely similar to many other country songs due to its common sounds. The chorus in particular seems to have the same structure as “A Little Less Talk and A Lot More Action”, another very successful song. It’s not a bad thing, as the familiarity works for him in this instance, but too much similarity will not bode well for any aspiring musician. Eventually, it becomes too routine. “House of Blues” is a very good piece that I could definitely hear as a country hit, with a little bit of tweaking. In fact, if he did not yet have this full album and only had select songs for a demo, I would highly recommend he put “House of Blues” on there, along with the two just mentioned. “House of Blues” has some elements which help its interest factor including a good use of vocal distortion in the beginning and heavy fiddle and steel guitar instrumentation, adding to the country feel. This is overall, one of McCarroll’s stronger songs. The last track on the album, “I Wonder” also has a really intriguing flute feature, which grabs your attention almost immediately. It pairs nicely with the guitar.

While At The Crossroads has great potential, it doesn’t come without it’s flaws. “Must’ve Been Crazy” actually begins pretty unusual as McCarroll’s voice suddenly reminds me of Tom Petty (not a bad thing), so at first I think, “Hey, this is different… I think I’ll like this one”. Almost as sure as I’ve said this to myself, the chorus comes at me and so do the female vocals, a.k.a. the main problem with this song. I think the girl/girls doing the vocal backing on this song have some pitch issues which are completely revealed in this song. It’s hard to enjoy your listening from that point on because the female vocals are so obnoxious. Also, I’m not particularly fond of the way that the background vocals continue to hold long after McCarroll has cut off on the “I must’ve been crazy” sections; and also, if you can’t do melismas (the embellishing of one note by singing several in its place — i.e. Mariah Carey), then don’t. They are awkward effects if not properly done. It’s truly a shame since this song had the potential to be more appealing then it ended up being. In the track “I’m Down”, I find myself generally enjoying the listening experience. However, I take issue with McCarroll’s voice seeming a little more shaky and less confident than in others prior. There are several times throughout the song where his pitch becomes a little uneven.

I am certain that I would have enjoyed At The Crossroads more if I’d picked up on a particular style of McCarroll’s throughout the album. I do like that he boldly chooses to fuse these genres together, but at some point, I feel like to be an artist who’s really identifiable, you must have a niche. All the great one’s have a niche that sets them apart and I would have liked to have seen him develop one as this album progressed. My only other real problem with this album is in the production realm. There are several times throughout At The Crossroads where I feel like the vocals are too far forward, exposing vocal imperfections and making the quality sound less professional. Examples of this can be found on tracks like, “Business Traveler Blues”, “Train a-Movin’ On”, “Road Rage”, and “I’m Down”. The vocal mix on these songs stands out too much and could be softened a little to sound less “high school garage band-ish”. The vocals shouldn’t sound like they were laid down on one track with the instrumentation on another. Good producing should be able to form one cohesive sound through the mixing process. At times, especially during those mentioned tracks, I feel like the mix is a distraction, taking you away from the song itself and making the listener aware of notes which are a bit off. I’d hope to see this element worked with in further albums as well.

At the end of the day, Mike McCarroll’s At The Crossroads is a nice album, once again, with a great deal of potential to spur him in new and exciting musical directions. Though there were some good tracks and some misses, I know that a great deal of work went into this album, and it shows. I look forward to hearing more from Mike McCarroll in the future.

Key Tracks
1. “Get It On”
2. “Saturday Night”
3. “House of Blues”

4 out of 10 stars

The Top 5 Alternative Rock Bands That Should Have Never Existed

Just as a precursor to all of the greatness that you’re about to read, I think I should note that I’m currently about the sickest I’ve ever been in my entire life right now.  If for some reason this post ends abruptly, it’s most likely because my head has exploded into 347, 982 separate pieces and has completely ruined my MacBook in the process.  Anyhow, a few weeks ago, Erin listed 5 Alternative One Hit Wonders, and today I’d like to add to that list.  The following list is of 5 One Hit Wonders that were so bad that they never should have even existed!  What were we thinking?

5:  Fountains of Wayne – “Stacey’s Mom” was a guilty pleasure for just about everybody back in the day.  And hey, who can blame you?  It was catchy, kinda funny, and the video featured Rachel Hunter in a bikini.  What’s not to love?  Oh, I don’t know…maybe the fact that the song is probably one of the most ridiculous pieces of music I’ve ever heard in my lie.  “Stacey’s Mom has got it goin’ on.  She’s all I want and I’ve waited so long.”  Really?  Thankfully, the band’s other songs never caught on, and most of us never had to endure anything past this song.  Which is good, because that album was obscenely stupid.  I know because I owned it.  *sigh*

4:  Marcy Playground – I remember it being the summer of 1998 and doing this whole thing for marching band.  This jackass named Jeff is standing around singing this song (“Sex and Candy”), and I thought to myself, “Wow, he actually likes that song?”  That actually means a lot, because at the time I was into a lot of crappy music (The Offspring, mostly).  I don’t know why I never liked this song, but as I’m listening to it on iMeem right now, I can’t help but feel that I was right all along.  Here’s a little snippet from the chorus for your reading pleasure:  “I smell sex and candy here.  Who’s that lounging in my chair?  Who’s that casting devious stares in my direction?”  Ahh, yes.  Such lyrical grace has only been seen on the rarest of occasions.  

3: Lit – I always love when those “Buzz” rock commercials come on and I get to hear 3 second clips of all the songs I used to love.  However, when Lit’s “My Own Worst Enemy” comes on, I cringe just a little bit.  It’s another one of those songs that was supposed to be funny, but just wound up being annoying.  “It’s no surprise to me I am my own worst enemy, ’cause every now and then I kick the living shit out of me.”  Oh, please do tell!  I’m so glad I didn’t buy into this crap…I’m pretty sure my sister did though.  I wonder how she feels about that purchase today?

2:  Stabbing Westward – Funny story.  I’m walking through best buy about 4 or 5 years ago and I see Stabbing Westward’s CD, Darkest Days, sitting there.  I thought, hey I remember them having that one song “Save Yourself” back in the day.  That song was cool!  So I bought it.  Bad idea.  As it turns out, “Save Yourself” is not a good song, and everything else on this album is even worse.  There’s this running joke between me and my brother in law where I try to pawn this CD off on him.  He always refuses and it always goes right back on the CD shelf.  You know a CD is bad when you can’t even give it away…

1:  Crazy Town – “Come my lady, come come my lady.  Be my butterfly sugar baby.”  Oh, I can’t even begin to tell you the depths of my hatred for this song and for the band responsible for it.  I remember watching an MTV interview with these guys around the time “Butterfly” came out.  The interviewer asked something along the lines of, “You released two singles before this song.  Did you know it would be such a huge hit.” To which, the dude with the bleached blonde tips responded, “Oh yeah, we knew it would be huge.  But we didn’t want to be remembered as the guys who made “Butterfly.”  We wanted people to get into our other stuff too.”  Hey, here’s a question for everyone, name another Crazy Town song?  What?  You can’t do it?  Don’t worry, I doubt bleached blonde tips could do it either.  

Moods – Jumbled

Sure signs there’s a problem: the glazed look in one’s eyes, the mumbling, the clear look of trying to figure something out. The questions and comments randomly thrown out there: is it? Isn’t it? Which way what? How did you…” I don’t get it. I followed the directions but it still doesn’t work. I don’t understand what you’re talking about. Can you run that by me again? You’re not making any sense. I just don’t get it. *^#$&! (times about 100). Maybe if the directions were a little more elaborate. Just tell me what’s going on.

Jumbled happens about fifty times a day for me and I imagine for everyone else too. There’s no good explination for it, usually. I’m either not paying attention, not paying enough attention, don’t care, not listening, don’t want to do it whatever it is, have forgotten something important, or it’s someone else’s fault. Sometimes it can be a problem and sometimes it ends with a “Eh, whatever” or a victorious “OH! I got it!” Either way, it works itself out and I’m free to move on to the next endevour. Whatever it is, though, it leaves me in a state. One where words lack, my mind won’t stop spinning at a million miles an hour and allow me to focus, and I hit the “forward” button halfway through each song that iTunes spits out for me because it just doesn’t fit my mood.

Jumbled, as defined by Websters:

1. to mix in a confused mass; put or throw together without order
2. to confuse mentally; muddle.
3. to be mixed together in a disorderly heap or mass.
4. to meet or come together confusedly.
5. a mixed or disordered heap or mass
6. a confused mixture; medley.
7. a state of confusion or disorder.

Fitting for the day and for the exact mood I’m in, a play list built from hitting the forward button…because sometimes jumbled just happens…

Video of the Week – Week 64

“I’m sure you must be weary, dear, with soaring up so high;
Will you rest upon my little bed?” said the Spider to the Fly.
“There are pretty curtains drawn around; the sheets are fine and thin,
And if you like to rest awhile, I’ll snugly tuck you in!”
“Oh no, no,” said the little Fly, “for I’ve often heard it said,
They never, never wake again, who sleep upon your bed!”

The Spider and the Fly by Mary Howitt, 1821

Things that creep me out: spider webs, spiders no matter the size, the idea of being consumed by some arachnid while sleeping. This video, which seems to capture all that and Robert Smith’s voluminous black hair.

It’s certainly a classic in my book.

Fuck Buttons: "Street Horrrsing"

Let’s not try to make excuses here. Street Horrrsing is a terrible album. If you’ve followed the overhyped history of this British noise band from their humble roots in 2004 to the present day, then you are well-aware of the fact that this band has grown significantly since that time. Where their earlier “songs” found the band mixing an endless array of sounds, textures, and distortions to form completely incoherent catastrophes, Street Horrrsing shows a couple of guys who have added a few pleasing elements (ie. melody) to their music. The end result is still very much a disaster, but I didn’t find myself hating it altogether.

“Noise rock,” “experimental,” and my personal favorite, “noisecore,” are all terms that have been used to haphazardly describe Fuck Buttons’ compositions. Perhaps void of “rock” and “core,” the term “noise” would be much more appropriate. For the majority of Street Horrrsing‘s runtime, the group is more than content with assaulting your ears with a inappropriate level of distortion, background screams, and random electronic instrumentation. There are times when the band lets up a bit, like on “Ribs Out,” where we’re treated to several minutes of tribal drums and delayed monkey howl-esque vocals (I believe they are vocals). Lyrics (aside from indecipherable screams) are nowhere to be found on the album, which can’t be a bad thing as I usually find it better when an artist learns to make music before they start singing along to them.

And while the sonic majesty and depth of Fuck Buttons’ compositions are hardly debatable, the sheer difficulty of them are not. They’re easy. When actual notes are played, they’re usually part of a four-chord progression that continues throughout the length of the song. That’s not such a deterrent for a 3-minute pop song, but seeing as how all but one of the songs on Street Horrrsing are over 7 1/2 minutes long, even the most impressive moments of the album start to wear thin eventually. Personally, I found “Sweet Love For Planet Earth” to be captivating until it hit the 6 minute line and just repeated the same thing for the next 3 minutes. Likewise, “Okay, Let’s Talk About Magic” (the longest song on the album) is downright tedious.

That’s not to say that Fuck Buttons is completely without talent or vision, however. I’ve found them to be a duo capable of both. The problem simply lies in the music that is presented on Street Horrrsing. To put it bluntly, it sounds completely amateur at times. Only two tracks have anything that sounds completely different from the other four, and even then the music that is playing is hardly profound or even noteworthy. The whole “let’s play loud distorted music and then scream underneath it” theme is repeated over and over again and it’s silly to suggest that such a gimmick is worth filling up an album with, or that it’s worth hearing more than once.

I’ve heard it said by several friends and bloggers that Fuck Buttons is just messing with us, making an album that is purposefully bad just to see who will fall for their ruse. I don’t buy that at all. I think Fuck Buttons made Street Horrrsing as a serious output for their music. Unfortunately, the band misses the mark on so many levels that it’s hard to take someone who rants and raves about the album seriously. It’s too simple to be experimental, too melodic to be noise rock, and not melodic enough to be considered anything else but amateur. If the band was reaching for something wholly unique, something indefinable, they have actually achieved that goal. Unfortunately, if they were going for something good, they have a way to go. Street Horrrsing lies somewhere between a bad Lumines Soundtrack and skipping record. Both might be welcome changes after enduring this unfortunate album.

Key Tracks:
1. “Sweet Love for Planet Earth”
2. “Ribs Out”

2 out of 10 Stars

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