Okay, when you write music reviews, you're supposed to be open-minded. I mean, as a person. You're not
supposed to judge discs by their covers or bands by
their press releases, right? But, you know, things
come in and you say, without having listened to it, "I
know exactly what that's going to sound like." Often,
you do but you listen anyway and chug down a couple of Slim Fast shakes to forget all about it. Dust to
Dust's Sick started off that way for me.
I left it on my desk until the last possible moment,
when I was sure I couldn't put off listening to it any
longer. I knew that if I waited one more minute, I'd
be shirking my responsibilities. So, I put it on and
was amazed at the maturity and emotional depth found
on this little slab which comes to us all courtesy of
The Music Cartel (they're doing some exciting stuff
right now). Sure, there's a little bit of seething
here and there, a little bit of loathing in the
corners but it's not overdone. The guys focus on
catchy melodies but not to the point that they sound
like pale young stock boys turned loose on a Strat and
a microphone. (That's mostly one guy's doing, more on
him in a sec. So hang tight, 'kay?)
They've got the obvious single ("This Way," which is
cool), the big album track they'll forever be
remembered for ("Sick") and the big concert anthem
("Think About It," which will sound really good while
you're being tossed about in front of the stage at an
outdoor venue some day). All along the way, there's
some solid writing from Rob Traynor, who saves "Blue
Sky Lie," one of his best, until the very last moment
so that you won't feel disappointed at album's end.
Nice work, Rob--on both that track and the record.
Sorry I doubted you, man.
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