Music reviews. CD reviews. Critically hip!

It's hard to overestimate the influence which The Velvet Underground has had upon rock music over the past...shit, it's been almost 40 years since THE VELVET UNDERGROUND AND NICO came out, and that album and what came after influenced everyone from David Bowie to Television to Dinosaur, Jr. to The Strokes. It's entirely possible that kids who are forming bands now are finding that LP in their grandfathers' record collections. Scary. And, if anything, the Velvets have become more of an influence recently, with new bands releasing discs every month, it seems, which attempt to capture that decadent magic that the group in general, and Lou Reed in particular, left behind.

The entry into the Velvet Underground sweepstakes this month is Henry. Henry is a guitar/bass/drums trio; none of the gentlemen are, of course, named Henry, and, unlike the title of their debut CD, this is no bitter pill to swallow here. The group name probably relates more to the movie Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, in that even during its quietest moments one detects a subtle, dangerous roiling just beneath the surface. This is music that you want to watch carefully, but don't want to look in the eye.  The Velvet Underground influence is obvious here, with guitarist/vocalist Don Gould's soporific vocals drifting over three cord progressions delivered with authority. The tracks here, particularly "Old Seventeen," are probably closer to V.U.'s third, self-titled drug-laced nightmare as opposed to WHITE LIGHT WHITE HEAT or what is known as The Banana Album. "Lost Vacation," however, sounds in parts like it might have borrowed a riff or two from "Heroin," without the sturm und drang ending. No matter; Henry's CYANIDE has all the elements, particularly the technically casual musicianship that meanders along, but always, always forward. The drum and bass opening to "Broke in the Wood" is faintly menacing, and by the time that Gould's vocals and guitars come in the listener is uneasy without knowing quite why. It's kind of what The Violent Femmes seemed to be struggling toward on a lot of their work but never quite accomplished, so it's somewhat disconcerting to hear Henry nail it, and so well, after only a few minutes. The production is just this side of lo-fi, and is accordingly damn-near perfect. The only thing that doesn't really work immediately on CYANIDE is the title track, but even that will grow on you after a few listenings.

CYANIDE goes by way too fast. Henry sounds as if it has the chops to go deep in the future. They hopefully will eschew any misguided attempt to pretty up their sound, to make it more radio friendly. Their audience, and its sure to be a large one, will find them.