|
The Northwest USA six-member
band, Minus, is far from being just an ordinary band. For
starters, they are not easy to label. Are they
hard rock? Are they electronic rock? Are they
Funk groove rock? Are they none of the above, and at the same
time, a little bit all of the above? Well, let’s consider the
evidence.
Minus rocks, yes they do.
Track number 2, “3 Bad Brothers”, has
a very definite “Rock n Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution”-era
AC/DC vibe to it. The rough n ready guitar work of Mark France
is both defiant and classically rooted, while being pelted by a
storm of raw and raucous drumming. Skin-man Henry Franzoni lets
it rip fierce on a number of tracks, leaving no doubt at all
that Minus IS a real rock n roll band.
But, Minus is also pretty groovy in a
funky, low key sort of way. Check out “Acid Flesh”, with its
seductive, jazz/funk
improv stylings and lazy feedback, zizzing and zazzing through
the speakers. “Tard Bop” (contemplate THAT song title for a
minute!) blends sounds in a Rush-like haze with subtle bass funk
inflections right out of the Herbie Hancock school. “Stoner”
makes me want to start singing ‘woke up in my clothes again
this morning’ and wonder what
Andy Summers might think of my little “Shadows
In The Rain” reverie. This particular cut begins with bass
lines ala’ The Police, then careens off into a full-on rock
guitar mania, complete with grinding riffs and revved up licks.
And let’s not forget that Minus employs DJ Scratch n Sniff on
turntables for that hip hop rock flava, and Mark France and Dave
Trenkel as both producers AND multi-instrumentalist, electronic
wizards have enough trickery up their sleeves to make Minus a
computerized music-lover’s wet dream!
Dark Lit is a mostly instrumental
recording, with very little true ‘vocalization’ at all. It’s
a smorgasbord of synthesized, programmed, hands-on, tweaked and
peaked sounds; a spiraling, splintered array of aural
transmutations. In short, Minus’ fresh release is innovatively
different. But, then again, what else would you expect from a
far from ordinary band?
|
| Artist |
Minus |
| Title |
Dark Lit |
| Label |
New and Improv |
| Reviewer |
Roxanne Blanford |
| Rating |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Contents
Home
|
