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Formed
from the ashes of the very under appreciated Mystics and grand
ole Ride, The Animal House is a perfect blend of both and
more. The Mystics had a great swirly psychedelic pop sense
that should’ve catapulted them to the top, but due to record
labels dragging their feet, their full length got released
a year and a half after their singles had already peaked.
A disgruntled Sam Williams, lead singer and chief songwriter,
hooked up with Mark Gardner, former lead singer and guitarist
for Ride, and formed The Animal House.
Originally
formed as a side project, it became so much more. From their
first EP, Small, it was easy to see that the combo
of Gardner and Williams was a golden one, which is showcased
as well on this release. The single track is a perfect mixture
of old style, late 80’s dance pop energized with an edgy indie
rock sound.
The
great harmonies created by Williams and Gardner are backed
by an amazing landscape of instruments and samples, all melded
together to create a pounding pop sound all their own. One
of the tracks, "Chase The Sun," is a beauty of a dance track
and was actually released as its own club 12" single and pretty
much eclipsed the "Ready to Receive" single in popularity.
That’s hard to do with a b-side. The track "One Night Only"
showcases their instrumental abilities, blending dance with
a sixties TV theme song thang. It’s very driving and thickly
layered.
The
live session recording from the second single shows the band
in a whole new light. They manage to reproduce all the sounds
from the studio--and then some. There’s more of an edge to
the vocals, heavier on the guitars and more intensity on the
keyboards. One of the few bands that can do all the heavy
layering of sound as well live as they can in the studio.
If not better. If you missed The Mystics or wondered what
the creative force behind Ride was doing then stop at The
Animal House, boot Belushi away from the stereo and kick out
the jams!
-Jeff
Turner
- Track
Listing: Part one
- Ready
To Receive
- Chase
The Sun
- One
Night Only
- Track
Listing: Part two
- Ready
To Receive
- Animal
(live Radio 1 Session)
- Small
(live Radio 1 Session)
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