City Weezle: No. 2

When an album is titled No.2, and the band explains the title as such; “to understand the meaning of the title one only has to reference 'peepee' as No.1�. Ok, right out of the gate we know these guys have a sense of humor. It is also suggested you take this in as an album, side 1 (first 4 songs) are more European influenced and side 2 (last 4 songs) are more American.

The haunting piano motif opening “Captain Introspective� sounds like music for a film. Kicking in with heavy riffing, musically flexing their muscles to counter the intro. Then the vocals hit, interesting and off-putting at once. When your lead vocalist is nicknamed “The Vocal Viking� that gives you a hint of what you are in for. “The Underground in Europe� offers up a unique vocal that one could imagine hearing in a play, let’s call this a show tune for lack of a better comparison. The music is imaginative, diverse, and constantly changing, and they manage to drop a little aggression into the chorus. The song morphs close to extreme metal with the growling vocals and music, and changes yet again with a church organ and narrative, ending with a massive sounding choral section. “Maestro Mafioso� sounds like you are strolling down an Italian street with accordion music and waltz timing. As you would expect by now, the song shifts multiple times being led by a straight ahead guitar riff, interesting keyboards, and the multi-part vocals are done very well. “Crimson Jig� ends side one, all instrumental, at its heart seems folksy, but the band rocks it up and it gets strange quickly. This is my favorite track on side 1, it reflects a more rock/fusion approach, and in all honesty, the lack of vocals is refreshing.

Side 2 opens with “She’s A Stomper�, this one plods, not as interesting as what I heard on side one, and to repeat myself, the vocals make this one a hard pass. The lyrics are off putting, the intent I am sure is to be funny, but they fail miserably. “Even Weezles Get The Blues� is just that, a slow bluesy number that shows The Vocal Viking (Simon Fluery) can sing, he has a good voice. But, again, the lyrics are ridiculous and not funny. “Eskimo Pie� continues the foolishness, and I’ve grown tired of the vocals at this point. “Cluedo� is 13+ minutes and offers more eclectic music, but is vocally dominated, ear fatigue has set in. Please stop singing over everything and take a breath. Side 2 slips musically in comparison to side 1 which was much more interesting.

City Weezle are amazing musically, complex, diverse, and very interesting. The vocals keep No.2 from rating higher, you may feel different. That’s unfortunate, because musically they have much to offer, but I just can’t get past the vocals to consider this a keeper.

Track List:

1. Captain Introspective
2. The Underground in Europe
3. Maestro Mafioso
4. Crimson Jig
5. She’s A Stomper
6. Even Weezles Get The Blues
7. Eskimo Pie
8. Cluedo

Added: October 12th 2021
Reviewer: Eric Porter
Score:
Related Link: Band @ Bandcamp
Hits: 492
Language: english

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