Review Summary: Good debut album, but lacks the production quality and effort to be a great debut album.
Now, I could write a deep and introspective review on this album, but this honestly doesn't need/deserve it. Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad album, but this review should correspond with the amount of time that the band spent on the album, which wasn't very much. The band consists of George Jacobs (Vocals/Guitar), Bill Roseberry (Drums), Peter Aragi (Bass), and Colin Smith (Bass/Piano). Colin was removed from the band shortly prior to the release of the album, so he played on most of the tracks, but at the time of the release, Peter Aragi was the bassist.
At first listen, the things that stand out are the absolutely abysmal production (but with a band like this, what do you honestly expect?), and also lack of solid musicianship. None of the members are truly awful at their instruments (except for maybe Colin when he was bassist), but there is nothing extraordinary. As far as style of music is concerned, this is VERY experimental and somewhat unique. It is usually rather heavy but there is the occasional ballad on the album, which is a good change of pace. The highlights on the album are metal ripoff "Can You Smell the Napalm" and "I Hate Love". The former, despite its "poop-brick" quality production that's even worse than every other song on the album, its anthemic chorus and powerful vocals help it standout. This is the literal definition of pop-metal, and in this case that isn't an insult. "I Hate Love" is the best ballad on the album and it's meant to rebel against what ballads are meant to be about, which is love. Featuring a piano and guitar solo, it is a great treat at the middle of the album. "Bagpipe Woman", "Beards, Cats, and the Feebee Stash", and "Industrial Revolution (In Your Bedroom)" are pretty good, too.
Now, onto the other tracks. Second track "Uncertainty" tries to be serious and forgets how to rock. It doesn't cause the album to lose THAT much momentum, but it still is pretty sub-par. "Big Forehead" is about a forehead fetish with inaudible lyrics, but a pretty cool riff. The biggest hit single "Sock on You" is bass-driven in the beginning (HUGE MISTAKE), but then a decent riff comes in after the first chorus and it has a sort-of strong finish. "Too Many Tears" is a 5 and a half minute ballad that sucks the whole way through. George voice cracks at least 5 times throughout the song, and the "guitar solo" feels like a piano solo it's so bad. Closer "Silly Serenade" is almost as bad, with extremely depressing lyrics and absolutely no inspiration, whatsoever.
Well, there you have it. When you get past horrible production and some absolutely god-awful filler tracks there are some true diamonds in the rough. This review probably reads more like a 2, but "Can You Smell the Napalm" and "I Hate Love" are truly great songs. Also, there isn't many complaints necessary for the entire first half of the first album. I would recommend this to anyone who likes rock music.
