Ghosts tapping on a wall
John Mcdonald | Baltmore, MD USA | 03/12/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I know the band members pretty well, so rather than foisting my totally biased opinion on you ("Greatest album of all time! It changed my life! Order three copies today!"), I'll pass on the opinions of some other people:
"The placid vocals are mixed in perfectly with an array of different instrumentals, whether it be electronic beats, cello, saxophone, or piano. The overall sound is comparable to Modest Mouse vocals combined with a Pinback or Earlimart composition.... Putting a good start to 2006, this is an essential album to all music enthusiasts." ---Aaron Seelig and Spud Swenson, Thunder Radio
"Drums poke along at a turtle shuffle. Guitars pick high, lonesome clouds of notes while the bass tends to do the heavy lifting of slowly inching the songs forward. String instruments sigh in unison at the back of the mix. It's actually perfect moping music, in other words, and perfect for a cold, slushy, and gray time of year." --Jess Harvell, Baltimore City Paper
"Anar Badalov and Flora Wolpert-Checknoff might be barely out of their teens, but they already sound like they've passed into the netherworld. ...the distant souls equip themselves with keyboards, guitar, saxophone and various programming elements to make their brand of indie rock--but in the end they sound like ghosts tapping on a wall, trying to reach out to the land of the living." ---Kurt Orzeck, Harp
"One part Anar Badalov, one part Flora Wolpert-Checknoff, Metal Hearts relies on the gentle wisps of classic folk guitar, a synthesizer and rickety drum machine beats dropped inconspicuously over the duo's mish-mashed vocal melodies, to create a beautiful collection of dreary-day tunes well ahead of its time." ---Paul Olund, MSNBC
"It is amazingly put-together in composition, sounding like something that other bands might have worked for years to achieve, yet it also maintains the alluring roughness of music that has never passed through the filters of overproduction. ...an uncomplicated combination of sound that magically meshes into one of the most captivating albums you'll hear this year." ---Anne Valente, Playback
"You can tell that they've got a very honest, stripped down, and seductive sound. Every second of the album pulls on your heart strings, drawing you more into the songs." ---Shane Stiles, Rise and Revolt
"Listen on Myspace. Buy the CD on Feb. 21. Go see them when they come to NYC on March 4th. As far as first impressions go, this is about as strong as it gets." ---Jeffrey Baum, Central Village"
Track Listings (11) - Disc #1