Hammerbox - Numb (12 tracks) +Album Reviews

If you see this, buy it!

03/10/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I bought up all the copies I could at the time and gave it to my friends. It's a seamless CD of very hard insistent rock, with big girl vocals and slashing power chords. Their debut album was mostly funky country blues stuff, but there was one power song "When 3 is 5", that really hit the target. "Numb" is like a whole album of that kind of song, a real surprise given the tone of the first CD. All the melodies here work, a very friendly set to the ears. This Seattle group is long defunct now, and this was sadly overlooked and lost in the Pearl Jam / grunge deluge at the time."

Why didn't this band become huge?

Christopher Hivner | Dallastown, PA USA | 08/19/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"How Hammerbox never made it big is a mystery to me. No one I talk to remembers the band or has heard this CD. That's their loss. I love this CD. The roaring, impassioned guitars and Carrie Akres dynamic voice blended together perfectly. The songs were just the right length and tempo to make great rock songs. I agree with another reviewer that this was different than anything else coming out of Seattle at that time and it was so much better. If only we had more than a couple of CDs to remember them by. 12 years later and Hammerbox still blows me away every time I listen to it. If I wear my CD out, I hope I'll still be able to buy a new copy."

Not much to add.

Daniel Luechtefeld | Greater Metropolitan Tacoma, WA | 12/31/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Everyone is right. If there existed a "Greatest Hits Few Have Ever Heard" compilation "Numb" would be on it.

People do remember, though - Hammerbox reunited for a single, sold-out show at EMP in 2004."

Killer

lonenutnate | Sector 7G | 10/12/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This was lost in the detritus of late-period grunge. I first heard it on a video game, sadly I never did see them in concert. Carrie Akre is the hands down the best female rock singer, and this is her greatest accomplishment. Throw away that Hole CD and give this a listen!"

An almost immaculate collection of grunge-driven rock mantra

Jared Jongeling | USA | 06/20/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Hammerbox was one of those few rare bands that never got the recognition they deserved. People were too busy raving about Nirvana and Pearl Jam (who partly owed their credentials to Hammerbox, as Mike McCready later joined "The Rockfords", the follow-up to Hammerbox) to notice the small-time club-hopping "other" seattle bands on the scene like Swervedriver, Number One Cup, Pavement, Therapy?, Paw, and of course...Hammerbox.

If you want to know what I really think - I think that Hammerbox should have been in Nirvana's shoes. Now don't get me wrong, I love Nirvana, but they were no better than these guys. Carrie and Co. really showed the grungies how to rock by only spanning two full-length albums (the first of which was sold exclusively by the band at clubs on their C/Z label).

And a band that was fronted by a female singer with more balls (excuse me, had to say it) than most male alternative rock singers was not exactly an every day thing. Give credit where credit is due.

"Numb" stands alone as one of the greatest alternative records to surface in the 90s. Noteable tracks on this cut include "Hole", "Hed", "Outside", "When 3 is 2", "Trip", "No", "Simple Passing", and "Anywhere But Here". I darn near named the whole album. Well I guess that just goes to show you.

Dare I rank this in the same branch of top alternative rock records with Siamese Dream, Ten, and Core? I dare. And I won't take back my word, either. Hammerbox succeded in a time when MTV was worth watching.

If you can find it, pick this record up. That along with any Swervedriver, Therapy?, Dinosaur Jr., and Sonic Youth. Don't forget "Goodness", and "The Rockfords" - the two bands including Carrie Akre AFTER Hammerbox faded away."

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