The continuing saga of a wholly irreverent new way of reviewing
albums! It's like sitting in a room with a bunch of jaded music
critics and getting a snapshot of how they feel about an album.
Honesty and first impressions are the key to the Bargain Basement. (opinions expressed may not hold true
after repeated listenings to albums) Dig it! If you think you know
who the reviewer's names represent, send an email to basement
at hybridmagazine dot com with your guess and mailing address.
At the end of each month, we'll pick a winner and send them some
great new CDs!
Various
Artists- 14 Songs In 28 Days
Felix - Excellent compilation of eclectic bands and material Garfield - Great acoustic indie compilation with wide
ranging styles from Beck to Tori Amos Mr. Bigglesworth - Covers a wide spectrum of material,
all worthy of listening to.
17
Pygmies - 13 Blackbirds
Felix - Great, someone put the soundtrack to my trance
nightmare on 2 discs Garfield - A slightly less international version of
Transglobal Underground Mr. Bigglesworth - Electric-infused ambiance, like
autchre with a drunk singer
36
Crazy Fists - Rest Inside The Flames
Felix - Pretty decent screamo-rock in the same vein as
System of a Down Garfield - Rage Against The Machine style screamers
which as much as I hate to admit it, are decent. Mr. Bigglesworth - Balls to the wall rock that is intense
and uncompromising
Air
- Pocket Symphony
Felix - Repetitive lines with minimalistic additions that
club aficionados fall asleep to
Garfield - Downtempo style which tries to emulate Zero
7 and falls flat on its back
Mr. Bigglesworth - 1974 called, they want their styles
back
Bonk
Against Nothing - Bonk Against Nothing
Felix - Nothing too bad, but not exactly good either.
Never really takes it up that notch Garfield - AC/DC meets 311 in every non-exciting element
of both Mr. Bigglesworth - Mindless guitar wagging with boring
and uninteresting vocals
Converge
- No Heroes
Felix - Man, what happened to Converge? They used to be
palatable Garfield - How do these guys still have vocal chords? Mr. Bigglesworth - Is the screaming on the album, or
is it in my head telling me to turn it off?
Darling
- Welcome The Ghost
Felix - Simple, clean and enjoyable. Tell all your friends Garfield - Not very sophisticated or imaginative but
I guess if you like that sort of thing Mr. Bigglesworth - Pop with some punk/grunge influence
reminiscent of Blink 182
Five
Bolt Main - Live
Felix - Very good live recording of a good band, wish
it was longer Garfield - Raw, intense and surprisingly not bad Mr. Bigglesworth - Tool and Sevendust's bastard child,
with some incredible stage presence you can hear
Halophile
- Panic Bird
Felix - Sophmoric almost trance-rock that tries to be
Pink Floyd Garfield - The cover art is by far the most attractive
part of this album. Mr. Bigglesworth - What happened here? Maybe a better
producer could have straightened out this mess
Mr.
Gnome - Mr. Gnome
Felix - Thrilling rock anthems to nothing in particular.
Decent female vocals Garfield - Decent hooks, sounds like a darker version
of Hole with better vocals Mr. Bigglesworth - Too bad it's an ep, I would like
to hear a full album of this
The
New Flesh - Vessel
Felix - Poor low-fi garage rock that aspires to Nirvana's
Bleach status Garfield - God awful mixing in a terrible setting with
unfriendly recording equipment Mr. Bigglesworth - Almost decent songs recorded on
a tape player in a sock drawer
Safe
Home - The Wide Wide World And All We Know
Felix - Ethereal and dreamy to the point of putting me
to sleep
Garfield - A less talented female version of Nick Drake
with influence from psychedelic rock
Mr. Bigglesworth - Simple acoustic music reminiscent of
times past mixed with traces of electronica
Small
Sails - Similar Anniversaries
Felix - Mood music that is supposed to be relaxing but
just pisses me off Garfield - If Brian Eno and Imogen Heap had a red headed
step band-child, this would be the result. Mr. Bigglesworth - A battle of pop and electronica
where nobody wins
The
Summer Wardrobe - The Summer Wardrobe Felix - Lryically inept, but with some good vibes a'la
Grateful Dead or Phish Garfield - Can't decide whether it wants to be Hawaiian
or Country, either way not so good Mr. Bigglesworth - I'm bored out of my mind with this
strange concoction of psychedelic rock
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