8 - The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, September 18, 2001 4 Shit Sandwich, Not Saved EP; Cheap Drugs Records By Ryan C. Moloney Daily Arts Writer C b< h s d re a ti S to If there's one talent you an pin on Long Island- based punk-metal group Not Saved, it's a sense of umor. The title of the four- ome's new CD, Shit Sand- "ich, is a punchline the ozen or so critics who eview it will no doubt use s their "A" material. We'll bypass that tempta- ion here, for though Not aved is as musically semi- alented as any other garage unk-metal band, they are still a cornerpiece in today's scream-and-be-pissed-off- for-nothing puzzle of copi- ous hardcore music. Kids, lock up your Deftones CDs at night. The first song on Shit Sandwich, "Fintastic Voyage," (apolo- gies to Coolio) is a suitable showcase for the intertwin- ing riffs of guitarist Gerry Giacalone and bassist Kevin Purcell, though vocalist Jim Burns' indeci- pherable lyricalrants set the tone for the record. Is he yelling about drugs? The desperation of life? Going to Seven-11 for a Big Gulp? Do we care? Burns pro- duces such a wide range of screaming audible noises, his vocal chords must be as frayed as the Red Wings 1998 Stanley Cup flag you are stillflying from your car window. Not Saved peppers "Crash and Burn" and "Excess" with subtle inter- ludes of bass and guitar before launching back into the violent stuff, but this, er, sandwich has no mus- tard. "Excess," in particu- lar, is plagued with a simple-minded three-note riff that will suffice for a living-room slam-dance session, but will probably fall back when the next hardcore album thrashes by. "Tormented," the sixth and last song on the album might also qualify as the best, if only because it is the most definitive of the collection. The song starts out hard with every piece of the ensemble, before drummer Andy Flav ends it with a percussion accompa- niment of another Burns rant. If you need a soundtrack for watching "Backyard Brawls" or BMX on ESPN2 and you like hard- core music, this is your bag. Otherwise, you might want to stick with the PB&J as far as sandwiches go - sorry, couldn't resist. Grade: B- Visitor Jim,Visitor Jim; Fortune Records By Keith N. Dusenberry For the Daily Fortune Records didn't get the p memo - instead of sending their A&R people out to sign the next Sum 182 or Limpin' Park, they signed R.E.M. wannabes Visitor Jim. This band is a "hot" find - 15 years ago. I almost didn't have to listen to this record in order to review it. How could I have done this, you ask'? Well, it comes in a cheap, digipack-style case (you know, those crappy card- board sleeves that major bands put out a CD in so as to look "indie" and hip (read: Save money), and that little bands put out CDs in so as to ... well, r save money). Lesser-known bands employing digipacks mean one of two things: Either the label has no money, or it has no faith in the album's ability t to actually sell. In this case, I think both of these things are true. Visitor a Jim's frontman, Jim Greer, has previ- < ously made three solo albums and a a few miscellaneous band/side project albums for Fortune Records, but his .- appeal and selling power have yet to s stretch beyond his family and closest S friends. Let's say that he's not exactly :i a "unit shifter."r Despite all of this, I have to give ex Jim and his band mates James Bowser fu and Jimmy Leslie some credit. This he album has its moments. "Place of My 14 Own" and "I'll Be Gone" prove that to Greer studied under Brian Wilson and >D the Byrds at the Pop Songwriting ge Institute, but sadly he never utilizes 5 that tutelage to produce anything bet- 13 ter than the most mediocre of Foun- th tains of Wayne songs. The "harder" pI rockers on the album such as "Devil Sl2 Trouble" and "Never Get Home" are re just hard enough to keep this record di out of your mom's CD collection, but Su not good enough to garner a second of listen. If you still think that you want this C0 album, I recommend thatyou buy its std older, wiser cousin called Document. Bch Grade: C- Strange Little Girls, Tori Amos; Atlantic By Gina Pensiero For the Daily Songs In a Northern Key, Varno- line; Artemis Records By Rob Brode Daily Arts Writer There is a fine line between the beau- tiful and the unremarkable and Anders Parker falls into the realm of the latter. Anders Parker's self-brewed concoction Varnoline and his new album Song In a Northern Kev, put- ters along softly amongst psychedelic dissonance and plush soundscapes cour- tesy of mandolins, banjos and pump organs. The discc starts off with "Still Dream," featuring a guitar part which echoes Fleetwood Mac's "Landslide" and vocals that sug- gest Neil Young's vocal chords have found a new home in Parker's throat. Most of the disc suffers from this type of catatonic passivity. Parker sings thinly "Too far gone/how can you go on?," on "Indian Summer Takedown," track three, unfortunately by this point the listener is asking the same thing of Parker. Songs retreads familiar territory song Wonderland, The Charlatans UK; MCA By Chris Lane Daily Arts Writer Think Brit rock mixed with techno. Think bluesy, bassy riffs meeting elec- tronic beeps and bumps. Think Moby sharing the stage with the Oasis. It is a strange soup, but the taste is surpris- ingly good. Wonderland is the newest effort from The Charlatans UK, a band that has survived fame, imprisonment, death, and even an accountant stealing five hundred thousand from the trea- sure chest. This is definitely a "Behind the Music" band. The Charlatans have'certainly braved the storm and Wonderland is their proof. It struts with experience, yet is driven by a youthful experimen- tation. The band has been tinkering with techno and trance for some years now and Wonderland seems to be the destination they've been looking for. The album glides with a particularly feel good mood. Even the sad songs refuse to dwell on hard times. You get the feeling that these Brits want the listener to celebr'ate life, rather than feel its harshness. There is little varia- tion in the tone of the album but these ten tracks are grooveable. Wonderland has that cool vibe that makes errands or washing the dishes less of a chore. You'll scrub and-still muse over how they jam with all the different tones on the synthesizer. Remember there was clarinet, jazz guitar, harpsichord, etc. Toxicity, System of a Down; Sony/Columbia By Luke Smith Daily Music Editor System of a Down's second album carries where the first left, an explosive power grind SOAD's discolored mix of tempo changes and aggro-harmonized vocals drive tunes like "Jet Pilot" and "Prison Song" to the edge of nu metal fanati- cism with a mettalic sharp edge. Toxicitv does more than reach at the tits and bras Fred Durst tilted crowd and it reaches further than the simplicity of "Nookie," and the countless Fred Durst- a-likes. SOAD reaches towards a socio- economic point, stretching beyond "asses" and "fine bitches," and to novel conscience loosening thoughts such as after song. "Blackbird Fields" sounds like a sequel to "Still Dream."There are a few instances where Parker emerges from his comatose musicality. Songs "Song" and "Anything From Now"" rock with a Foo Fighter's rock/pop sen- sibility. The background is beautiful but the foreground is nonexistent. The album would work best as the music for a commercial. When VW was looking for a trance-like folk-y song to put behind their add for their Cabrio they could have used some- thing off of "Songs In a Northern Key" but since they went > _with Nick Drake's "Pink Moon" this CD will never serve a purpose, unless you want to listen to 15 covers o~f "Pink Moon" with different titles by a different artist. Too bad Parker's spider sense didn't go off when he was considering releasing this album. If you are arty, ostentatious, a big Neil Young fan or a girl this CD has a place in your collection otherwise leave room for it in the trash. Grade: D 4 The Charlatans tinkering sonically begs a nod to singer Tim Burgesses' smart vocal work. Be warned, much of the singing is in falsetto. But his reser- vation in volume, his quivering cadences and hopeful emotions prove that the man has got a vision. And I don't mean that in a 'paint a canvas purple and the artist has a vision' way. I mean Burgess wants to soothe and affect you just as the music does. It's like he's singing hymns in church, but has absolute faith in the words and music. Wonderland is a solid album. It's not an album that you're going to mosh to or scream along with the cho- ruses, but it's fun. Morebvr, it's a breath of fresh air that seems extreme- ly appropriate for this week, as well as for the angry and alienated -ap-rock phase that music is currently languish- ing in. Plus, at the end of the album, you'll look around and say "Wow, where the hell did all these clean dish- es come from?" Grade: A- Tori Amos is a cult. And that is not an exagger- ation. She quite possibly has one of the most die-hard fan bases in music today, which seems somewhat bizarre among the ranks of empty-headed bub- blegum and rap metal that plague modern popular music. She has always come off as an intelligent artist who writes from the heart. However, it is not Amos' writing that appears on her new disc, Strange Little Girls. It is actually a diverse mix of covers fused into a concept album. By doing everything from a Depeche Mode song to a disturbing spoken word version of Eminem's "'97 Bonnie & Clyde," Amos tries to portray the female perspective or even a female character portrayed in the song. It's certainly an interesting artistic idea, even if it isn't completely original. The packaging con- sists of photos of Amos as each of the characters from the song. Combining this with the covers aspect makes for a unique offering. However, one can't help but feel that the intention of Strange 1AJ}t Ax * Little Girls is some sort of twisted cross between Natalie Merchant's Ophclia and Shawn Colvin's Cover Girl. There is no doubt that the songs Amos chooses are, for the most part, exceptional. A standout is undoubtedly "Real Men" by Joe Jackson in which Amos' haunting voice echoes the lyrics, "But now and then we wonder who the real men are." Another track of interest is The Beatles' "Hap-' piness Is A Warm Gun," which Amos sings from the perspective of a call girl whom Mark Chap- man hired and confided in the night before he assassinated John Lennon. Also, Amos' rendition of Tom Waits' smoky bar ballad "Time," is as touching and somber as any Waits original could be. Musically, the album is quite good. Amos' voice remains unique and the arrangements are reminiscent of 1998's From the Choirgirl Hotel and 2000's To Venus and Back. To an uneducated listen, it sounds like the songs could stylistically be her own. And, as always, the piano work remains exceptional. The thing about Tori Amos is, she could put out a blank disc with nothing but track numbers and still be loved and revered as a great artist. Strange Little Girls is not her best work, as there is little that compares to her own song writing, when she hits her target. All things considered though, this album is very interesting and thoughtful. Devoted fans are sure to love it and those less acquainted with her work will certainly be able to find something appealing on Strange Little Girls. Grade: B+ freeing the imprisoned, (even if it is Charles Manson). SOAD's newest album changes gears growling like an Audi on the Autobahn, unleashing and unwinding through the straight-a-ways and humming around corners. The crossover's between Tool and Staind are ties that bind, but not ropes that confine and SOAD rises above any bad Aaron Lewis jokes. Grade: B U I REGISTRAR'S BULLETIN BOARD DATES TO REMEMBER Don't miss the 6th annual... 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