Wednesday in Review

Felicitations,

For those of you who care, I just started my final semester of this college career I've got going. Soon I'll be in the real world and blogging about novels, comics and booze will be tough to fit in to my schedule.

That said, I have a special two-part review: Absolut Mango (I'd never had it before!) and the debut album by a band out of Fist City called Spies. The album is entitled Mystery Monster.

So I bought this junk on a whim. It's purrty tasty. I'm enjoying my third vodka & tonic as I type. Unfortunately I can't really recommend many drinks for it. On the rocks it's smooth and has a strong smell of sweetened artificial mango. In a vodka tonic it's so easy to drink that I classify it as a "Date Rape Liquor." I can only assume that typical vodka combos such as an Absolut Mango and cranberry juice or mango martini would taste just as nice as anything else.

I do prefer Absolut's flavored selections since they don't sacrifice proof for flavoring like Three Olives or Skyy sometimes do. Of course if you're an asshole looking for a high-proof Date Rape Liquor I suggest you mosey on over to the liqueur aisle and pick up any of those 99 fruit schnapps. And find a good lawyer.

Now I have the honor of writing a review of Mystery Monster by Spies.
The album recently became available on iTunes here.

Overall I give the album a solid B-

There's certainly a lot going on here and the band does a pretty amazing job tackling several genres of music despite being just a three-piece. The best classification anyone can offer is indie, so that's what we're going with here.

Here's a track-by-track breakdown:

1- More Than Me
This is a strong opening track that starts with some gang vocals and has definite indie flare. The drummer shows off a talent for tempo changes and the lyrics set the tone for the rest of the album nicely.

2- Comatose in the Delorean
This falls under the catagory of one of the oddballs on the album for me. If the first track turned me on, this one turned me off. We go from up-tempo indie rock to a ska-rap number. Among its better qualities is its brevity.

3- All I Ever Wanted
One of my favorite tracks on the album. The bass is perfect, the cello is a great touch, and the lyrics hit home for just about anybody. My only complaint is the guitar sounds a little jangly at times, I would either suggest a warm neck pickup or an acoustic guitar.

4- Sleep Better
A haunting tune with driving drums, moody cello playing and a guest soprano vocalist. It my not flow with the genre of music advertised, but slow quiet songs have a place on any album. The singers don't quite seem to compliment one another, and sometimes it just sounds like one singer with a very unique voice. It is one of the top five for me though.

5- Curtains
An acoustic number that acts as the bottom rung of a movement into slower quieter songs on the album. The lyrics are melancholy and the crescendos are perfectly executed. Not sure I like the studio sounds at the end of the song though...

6- On My Own
Another strong tune that falls into the indie genre. It's a little darker in tone than everything else before it. It does mark a return in the theme of the lyrics to tracks like More Than Me and All I Ever Wanted.

7- Fist City Rockin'
A short instrumental track that doesn't do a whole lot for me. Technically, I'd say it lacks a strong lead guitar or a solo from any of the band members. On its own, it's weak, but as a lead-in for the next track it is superb. Ideal for live shows when the singer needs a break.

8- Hang On
One of the best tracks on the album, and another genuinely indie rock gem. It features neat riffs by the guitarist, an up-tempo head-nodding rhythm and great intonation on the vocals. It really shows off the unique qualities of the band. If I had to pick a hit single, this is probably it.

9- Mystery Monster
For being the title track, this song doesn't do a great job representing the album on the whole. It's the darkest in tone, the lowest in pace and most haunting track on the album. I personally like the song a lot, but it's hard to believe it came from the same band.

10- Beyond
This is another favorite on the album for me. Another up-tempo indie song with neat flourishes and some of the best written lyrics. The mixing leaves a little to be desired, but a quick change on your iTunes automatic EQ settings to "Dance" will improve the sound a bit. Another strong contender for hit single in my opinion.

11- Problems on Parade
A fun doo wop number will great drumming, sweet lyrics, and a brass section. Despite obvious '50s influences, the distinct indie flare serves to keep the song in the same vein as songs like Beyond, Hang On, and More Than Me. My only complaint is that it's too short!

12- Everyday
The final track with a song build-up and massive crescendos. Some of the best writing lyrically, but the vocalist strains a little too much to hit some of the notes, which takes away from it. It's a strong track for the middle of the album or the end.

I think this band's strongest potential is on stage. The overall sound of the album is underproduced, but they are an indie band, so bear with it. A good unique sound.

That about wraps it up. I'm off to have a couple more drinks.

-Steve

My First Review of 2010

Belated Happy New Year all,

I got bored so here's my review for a few different things; Death Comes For The Fat Man, a Dalziel/Pascoe novel by Reginald Hill, Incognito, a noir comic by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips, and the second volume of Air by G. Willow Wilson and M.K. Perker.

First, I'll tell you why, in my opinion, this installment of the Dalziel/Pascoe mysteries is one of the weaker titles in the series. Yes, I am a bit of a genre fiction geek and I enjoy Reginald Hill's wit and suspense building techniques. Dalziel and Pascoe are pretty compelling characters and as the title suggests, the Fat Man (Andy Dalziel) is dying.
The premise is simple enough, on one of Pascoe's days off, Dalziel calls him in to help negotiate with a potential gunman with hostages in a video store. The rub is that the store is flagged by CAT because of ties to known terrorist organizations. Before a resolution can be reached the store is destroyed by a bomb that injures Pascoe and sends Dalziel into a coma.
A whirlwind mystery ensues, involving racism, profiling, and certain metaphysical experiences.

It's quite different from Reginald Hill's usual work, and my biggest complaint is that the whole book seems to be pandering to the ignorant masses and the hype of terrorism. Terrorism has existed for a long time and will continue to exist as long as there's hate in the world. Would this book have been more successful to me if it had come out in 1998? Probably. But since we do live in a "post-9/11" world, any attempt to condemn or condone anti-terrorist actions just comes off as pretentious and snobby. Anyway, That shouldn't take too much away from the novel. I'll reiterate that the style and character drama remain unchanged and the suspense building and reveals are well-paced. It could have used a better copyeditor though, since there were enough misspelled words and incorrectly placed words for me to notice. I have the hard-bound edition though, so I'm sure the paperback resolved those issues. Overall I give the novel a 7/10.

Now, it's no secret how gaga I am over the team of Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips. Sleeper, Criminal and now Incognito are definite favorites of mine. Brubaker's gritty noir style coupled with Phillips' clean, simple art and ominous light and coloring make for a suspense-filled world of intrigue, drugs, murder and superheroes.
The premise is kind of neat, in that Brubaker analyzed the concept of the anti-hero. Usually it's a good guy (detective, superhero, etc.) who has to test the limits of his own morality when faced with the hard decisions that come along with noir storytelling. Brubaker turns this idea on it's head, and the protagonist of this story is a supervillain named Zack Overkill, who is placed in witness protection after testifying against his own crime boss.
Overkill quickly grows disgusted with living a normal life working in the mail room of a corporate office. Alcohol, weed, sex... nothing gets him out of his rut until his discovers the thrill of being a costumed vigilante. Now on the other side of the law, working in secret, Overkill finds some sense of satisfaction beating the snot out of thugs and cursing out the would-be victims of their crimes, until his old supervillain buddies figure out where he's been all that time.
This is a great story with gratuitous violence, excellent pacing, and a somewhat uplifting theme for a noir story. It's about as close as you'll get to a happy ending with Brubaker, so it's worth picking up. 10/10

Air. This has been strangely a hit for me. It's not usually the sort of thing I'm into, but the wild fantasy coupled with reality-bending powers and steam-punk aesthetics make for pleasing images. Again, I find myself put-off by the overabundance of terrorist-related drama, but at least in this case it's warranted since a good portion of the book takes place on airplanes or in airports.
The protagonist, Blythe, is a flight attendant with a crippling fear of heights and unique psychic abilities. Her character is well-written apart from her near-creepy obsession with her lover, who may or may not be a terrorist, Zayn.
This volume is much less realistic than the first in that there is more metaphysics and strangeness going on, but it seems understandable because the first volume seems like pure exposition compared to this one. It has a lot of provocative metafiction going on, which adds to the ongoing mystery of the series' rival factions; the hyperpracts and Etesians. There are plenty of unanswered questions by the end of the volume and I suppose that would be my biggest complaint. There just isn't a story arc in the traditional sense of ongoing comic books. I like this series overall, but it really should be read as a 300-page graphic novel rather than 6-issue arcs and especially not single issue format. 8/10

That's it for now. I'll get around to a more regular schedule of posts once life calms down a bit.

-Steve