The
Kyle Sowashes - Yeah Buddy! (We Want Action
Records)
Now here's a band that knows how to bring
the angst! Tuneful, alternative, off-kilter
music that reeks with irony ("Only Time
Will Tell") and a history buff’s
fascination about world issues ("Korea.")
There's even one song ("Cutout Bin,"
one of the album’s best) about a band's
opportunity to make or break; the band puts
a constant, catchy beat over a simple narrative
that tells a story just about every indie-rock
band can relate too. In fact, this whole album
is about the trials and tribulations of youth
("Rumors,") bands ("Yr Band
Flaked Out On Me" - two versions,) and...
the classifieds ("My Resume"). Now
over the years I've heard of singers who could
supposedly “sing the phone book and
make it interesting” (Sinatra &
Springsteen leap to mind,) but this is the
first band I’ve heard where it feels
like they could literally WRITE about the
phone book and make it fun! The Kyle Sowashes
(they're from Ohio, and are named after one
of the band members) take an extremely fresh
approach to everyday subjects, adding super-catchy
melodies that really perk your interest! How
many bands do you know that can write an interesting
tune about having a crush of Stevie Nicks,
the sexy, singing siren from Fleetwood Mac
(haven't we all, at one time or another -
c'mon admit it!) Like I said, The Kyle Sowashes
take a fresh approach to music - a VERY fresh
approach! - Phil Rainone
The Alan Cohen Experience Presents - Revolutions
(wwwalancohenexperience.com)
Usually, when a band calls itself an "Experience"
( Jimi Hendrix and Chris Stamey are good examples),
that's a good sign to me, but The Alan Cohen
Experience is an "Experience" of
a different kind. Crappy, off-kilter tunings
that are accented by bland, unimaginative
vocals are abundant throughout "Revolution."
Trying too hard to be like They Might Be Giants,
Cohen - who has written, produced, and preformed
the entire album - falls flat when it comes
to imagination and creativity. TMBG put out
albums that worked on both a child's level
and an adult’s. They were fun, catchy,
and had TMBG's off-beat sense of humor. On
Revolutions (I had to stop listening by the
eighth song because every tune was irritatingly
flat,) I'm not sure exactly what Cohen’s
trying to accomplish - whether he's trying
to market this to kids, adults or both - but
the music and lyrics are just dumb. Not ironic,
or tongue in cheek, just DUMB!
On "Mandela," lines like, "He
joined the youth league of The ANC/ The African
National Congress to you and me/ From the
start, he joined the act-t-i-v-i-t-y/ No matter
what the cost or legal fee." C'mon! I
can't figure out if it's like an inside joke
(if it is I'm not getting it), or what. It
just feels like he's dumbing these song down,
like we're not smart enough to get the joke;
but if there is one, I'm not getting it, and
there's absolutely no punch lines to be found
anywhere. maybe if Cohen used a band, or had
some outside influences along the way, this
might have been at least a little more interesting.
- Phil Rainone
CD Reviews 
