A promising first album
W. D. Rupy | Mestrino, PD, Italy | 07/19/2002
(3 out of 5 stars)
"This CD is an intriguing thing to me - jazz-inspired instrumentation and playing, often with a metal-style vocal delivery, which is at times both soothing and nervous, both engaging and off-putting. The 'engaging' part comes from the rich combination of instruments (as can be heard for instance in 'of weddings and funerals') and the intricate tempos the guys challenge themselves with, while what I find off-putting are the slightly-ragged musical delivery at times, along with what I consider to be this CD's weakest point, the vocals. Both of these shortcomings are things which I feel should be improved over time as the band plays together more and becomes 'tighter' as well as each player developing his chops. (They certainly push themselves, which is admirable!) My gripe with the vocals is that Eddie Sanchez' vocal delivery is often that of a metal singer, chanting the words and trailing them off, and his diction could be better. He could benefit from voice lessons - I kept imagining how the music would sound with more capable vocals, and I think the results then would be pretty stunning. Eddie only sings in the 'sweet spot' of his vocal range part of the time, the rest of the times he's down too low - which would be fine, if it weren't for the slightly-muddy production of the CD. The production being that way seems to be a double-edged sword - It softens the overall presentation, making it a bit more 'moody' and perhaps intimate, but at the same time, the clarity of the individual instruments - especially the vocals - is sacrificed somewhat. One other point, I realize not including the lyrics in the liner notes can enhance the mystery and apparent mystique of the band (and maybe be cheaper?) but I would like to have had them.
After all the above, why do I still give this CD a 3-star rating then? Because this CD still has a lot going for it, in spite of its shortcomings; the 'engaging' quality trumps the 'off-putting' quality. The lush instrumentation soothes you, while the tempo changes keep you interested without seeming overdone or feeling tedious. But most significantly, in addition to their fairly formidable musicianship, this band seems to possess imagination, creativity, and vision - all qualities that should take them far indeed. I'll play this CD now and then, and enjoy it, shortcomings and all, while I anxiously and curiously await their follow-up release."