Search - Grand Mal :: Maledictions

A little bit of this, a little bit of that

Nathan Bailie | Huntsville, AL USA | 08/27/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"First off, this is a pretty decent album. All of the songs are pretty consistently good, aside from maybe 'fun fun fun' and 'suckers bet'. There is a big nod to 70's glam here, maybe too much. A lot of the style seems "influenced" by 70's music. There are a few songs that are extremely T. Rex derivative, even to the point of having a single woman backup singer A-la Gloria Jones. Some of the music is predictable, almost as if they had the guide to the Manchester sound handbook. (the song 'Stay in Bed' for example.) All together it turns in to a blend that makes you wonder if they are ripping off T-Rex, Bowie, Charlatans, Soup dragons, Stone roses or even Oasis. The good news is that they do it well. So if one likes all of their obvious 'influences' then this album is a nice addition to the collection. They aren't as blatant as they could be, but the sound is nowhere near as original as it could be either. I'd say it's worth having if not just for the fact that it is a good CD to leave on and forget about."