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Groovenics Groovenics |
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Catchy name, should be a catchy "groove" then right? Not getting a whole lotta groove in the traditional sense, in fact early on the tunes stammer to and fro in a glut of rhythmic discontinuity, with sudden bursts of guitar buzzing overhead, tranquil bridge-like breaks, then the return… surprisingly, considering we're going six strong lineup-wise, the sound's kinda pale. Michael Wagener's production is fresh, but long gone are the days when you'd pick up an Ozzy disc or… I mean, look what he did for Raven during the glory year… now, it's more ho-hum, and on wit da show! "Teach Me" is an early on bright spot, catchy chorus, warbled vocal style, desperate sounding and a definite hard radio candidate. One thing I'm finding somewhat unusual is these guys have enough thank you's listed in the credits to fill another album's worth and yet there's not one written lyric. The vocals, often dreary and distorted, don't exactly come through clearly enough where you'll sit there and nod in instantaneous approval… You'll bob your head alright, probably sheer off its hinge by the midway point here but just a side note worth pointing out. Often darkly constructed, in the distance lies a murky mist, transmuted by the keyboard, to lend enough atmosphere to the dimly lit nature of things going on here. Opting for the ever popular utility-Rock style, or seven in one carving tool where countless blends are bled one into another, song to song… diverse, yes, innovative, hardly. Experienced listeners will notice quick similarities to the likes of early nineties crossover Rock pioneers Faith No More and later, Ugly Kid Joe, to the harder side of things, whereas today, Groovenics adopt the more Korn-like approach with an assortment of Orgy-led electro-static transmissions which all culminates at the end to a savage rendition of the Def Leppard arena-classic "Pour Some Sugar On Me" which with all its pumping and prodding effects turns out kinda cool-as a whole, Groovenics have a few things to offer but the scrutinizing listener will find their way to the better two or three tracks here, easy enough to single out, and sleepwalk through the rest. Released by Spitfire
Records. Review by Vinnie Apicella
[va85@columbia.edu] |