The
Drunken Stuntmen- State Fair (drunkstuntmen.com)
The Drunken Stuntmen have been playing together
since 1993. I remember reviewing one of their
albums a few years ago, and listening to "State
Fair" jogged my memory (which is no so
easy to do these days), reminding me of the
band's
dedication to the common ground of Americana,
jam band improvising, and good 'ol
rock 'n' roll! Though hardly revivalist, this
album abounds with unpretentiousness, and
generous servings of ringing choruses, and
exquisite guitar splashes with endearingly
ragged harmonies. Sweetly stunning, sensitive-but-not-wimpy
pop rock items like "Every Third Thing,"
or "Mid Tempo" are two of the many
standouts as they have the vibe of a really
good Replacements song, with the minute songwriting
style of someone like Wille Nile. On "Buy
Your Love" they get into a bit of a moody
singles bar vibe, but they eventually pull
it out toward the end with the band's cool
quirkiness.
All in all, The Drunken Stuntmen remained
true to what made them interesting in the
first place- good songwriting, solid musicianship,
an independent voice, and a wicked sense of
humor.- Phil Rainone
Switches - Lay Down The Law (Interscope)
Catchy pop punk tunes, nicely harmonized
joint vocals, chiming guitars, and
reverb-heavy drums make this a personable,
and commercially unique album. Oh, I
almost forgot to mention the addition of moog,
mellotron, and theremin. All ancient (60's/70's),
instruments that will aid you in humming these
11 tunes day in and day out. The musicians
while technicians all, keep the sound raw
and amateurish, and
that's a good thing!
"Message From Yuz" has a Fleshtones
primal sound that will perk even the most
emo-ish ears. Modern garage rock with a neanderthal
heartbeat. After that you'd think "Message..."
might be a one trick pony type of song, but
NO! "Every Second Counts," "Stepkids
in Love" (so wrong, but Switch makes
this song of semi-incest rib-ticklingly funny),
and "Lovin' It" all come thundering
out of the starting gate like a wounded rhino,
charging madly around with awesome, claustrophobic
rock power! Switches, with their new album
Lay Down The Law, have produced a
magnificently polished yet raw record, and
will be a major source book for countless
bands to come!
- Phil Rainone
CD Reviews 
