GFY - Dots - Yup. You guessed it. GFY has an album out. No big surprise there. Plenty of WPI groups have recorded stuff and put out a tape. Except this one's on CD. As far as I know of in recent years no WPI group has done that. Okay, fine, you're thinking big deal...different format. It is a big deal if you think about the time, planning, money etc. involved in doing a CD independently. Anyways whatever format it is they have a serious quality recording out and, well, it's definitely worthy of your attention. When I first heard about the album I was expecting some sort of Metallica sounding effort. Wrong. In fact upon listening to the CD I was wondering if this was the same band I had seen several times. The heavy distorted guitar sound was there as were the quick nifty basslines and maniacal drumming....but there was something else, too. Melody. I don't want to give the impression that GFY is tone deaf when they play live; far from it. But they are loud and more on the heavy side. On the CD, however, melody shares equal weight with volume throughout. Another great concept that made me keep checking what CD was playing was the amount of variety they have recorded. The songs change styles as quickly as Poison went out of style. Yes that's a positive comment. The first track "Someday" has an early Queensryche feel with strong melodies and thick catchy progressions. The second track, "Auburn," is something of a mix between Counting Crows and acoustical Alice in Chains. It happens to be my personal favorite and not just because it uses the word "plethora" in the chorus. "Auburn" smoothly rides into the next song "Left" which appropriately enough makes another left turn at various points back to their heavier live sound. From there "The Mayor" takes us on a Primusesque ride that builds intensity. Yet when track six, "Blinded Fool" starts it turns out mellower than "Auburn" and is complete with vocal harmonies. "Shoot Me" is a great song with what seems like half a dozen different tempos and twice as many changes. How Sean remembers all the lyrics, I'll never know. The next three songs all have what by now is surely their trademark blend of power and melody. The album closes with the haunting minimalistic "Grin." Good thing this is a CD because you can simply leave it on repeat in order to hear it enough to really appreciate it. Besides the variety of styles there's the lyrical content that is forceful yet doesn't have to be decoded to understand. If you haven't seen them live I simply can't describe the combination of Shane and Rodney as a rhythm section for bass and drums except that for a young band they sometimes rival the mighties of Rush and Metallica with speed and intricacy. Anyways this CD is one of those you need to listen to many times to appreciate even half of it. Sometimes bands go stale between playing live and putting it into a tape. GFY knows better and brought out a different and equally interesting side instead. You can get a copy of their album at either Mars record store or Revolutions record store on Highland St. Also, check out their live act Friday the 24th of Feb. in Gompei's. They'll be opening for Ginger Butkis.
Dana Mase - Diary - This CD was actually sent to me via Newspeak and from M&M Productions. I saw it and thought, oh great, a promo album. To my surprise this independently produced disc is of better quality than many major label albums. Skeptically I started listening to it while I was logged in and wound up bothering my roommate every few minutes saying "hey this is actually really good." Maybe its because I've learned to hate that word alternative so much. Maybe it's MTV and O.J. Simpson. Whatever the case this album is simply refreshing because of the purity of it. Maybe it's because some of the lyrics are in Yiddish and I can't understand them. Maybe it's the balance of delicacy and strength in Dana Mase's voice. At any rate "Diary" features a return to basics. The focus is on the songwriting and vocals. The atmosphere is relaxed on some tracks and faster paced on others. The lyrics run from sad to hopeful and reflect more on the daily things in life. Usually I don't like any music that bears a semblance of bending towards a particular religion. This is different. The songs walk you through everyday life and mention religious ideas, not force or preach them. Like many singer/songwriter albums this one blends faster folk/rock type songs with slower ballads. The first three songs "Yocheved," "Ordinary Day," and "Yerushalayim" all wind up with surprisingly likable uptempo sections. They don't just speed up either, they evolve. If you like religious music you'll probably like this album. If you don't then just close your eyes and let the sounds relax you. Either way its a unique and well done album. If relaxing music is what you'd like to hear then give "Diary" a listen.
Well there's two more reviews to digest. Hopefully they go down better than DAKA. Hopefully you're still reading. Here's my latest answer to that popular question of "what's there to do around here?" First of all, starting next week, I'll be including a club listing for the Worcester/Boston/Providence scenes as well as a schedule of what's happening where for shows. Instead of simply cramming everything in there I'll concentrate on places that feature under 21 shows and ones that people have hopefully heard of before. Watch this space for you basic concert bible updated every week. Second item is that Worcester is being invaded by talent. In case you missed Chris Dag's post, there will be a group of renowned DJ's and a live group playing techno in its various forms on Sat. March 4th right here in Worcester. I have no idea why they picked Worcester as their only New England stop but they did. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth. Go dance yerself silly. Talk to Chris or myself for more details. If you've never been to a rave or if you don't know what one is, take this chance to broaden your horizons and celebrate spring(???) break. L8R.