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Artist |
Unloco |
| Title |
Healing |
| Label |
Maverick Records |
| Reviewer |
Vinnie Apicella |
| Rating |
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First tune's got a real gritty edge with a Tool-like verse. Pick a Tool
song, any Tool song... but they don't sound like them, instrumentally
anyway. This one's a great rockin' opening tune, "Useless," built on
lower level depth and clean technique, very produced considering its
nature, which isn't to say this comes off like a gentle evening breeze by
any stretch. Unloco sounds like a Nu-Metal hybrid mixed with
Aggro-culture, Hard-Core ambivalence and underlying tunefulness that
lends to its subtle charm. Aren't they going a little against the grain
however with a name like "Unloco?" Aren't these the days where
popularity and a head full of bad wiring go hand in hand?
"Clean's" got
more of an edge to it but isn't the most enthused of the lot, becoming
somewhat repetitious before the final seconds draw to a close and
"Naïve" comes groaning its way into the picture and similarly doesn't
grab the reigns, rather contenting itself to stay the previously
developed course. They do break off some during the bridge, then fade
off, vocals turning to a whisper and then the rage.
To say Unloco's a
picture of health in Hard Rock circles dominated and somewhat diminished
by cancerous clone bands that faint at the sight of an original idea,
might be to stretch the old cloth a bit but they'll do some surprising
and musically welcome things while staying the course of simple Heavy
Rock sans samplers and stupefying studio complexities-"Face Down" did it
for me with its acoustical qualities with a nearly Southwestern twist as
we now may refer to the elegantly dressed gentleman taming the wild bull
with only red cape, sturdy posture and maybe a little more confidence
than most of us.
Unloco's tilted slightly in favor of the extreme with
this potent, somewhat predictable and downright "disturbed" debut
recording. You might've caught 'em doing "Nothing" for the "Little
Nicky" soundtrack a while back and comparatively; they measure up with
many of the veterans of the league -- Deftones, Tool, Filter. Don't be
surprised to hear the -- of perfectly sound mind out of Austin
natives -- expand their melodic approach, streamline things a bit more,
and go for an extra degree of musicality while lightening the Grind-Core
exploits a little bit like on songs as "Know One," "Less Of." for their
next release.
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© 2001 AMZ/music-reviewer.com Robert R. Lewis
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