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REVIEWS: Lost
at Sea Ahhh, glam rock. It’s great, isn’t it? I’m way too young to know what it was really like to attend those massive concerts, but I can imagine. Picture Grand Mal playing their set between the essentials- T Rex and The Sweet. Throw in some Exit on Main St.-era Stones, and Dave Fridmann production and you have got the winning formula for an immensely talented band. Grand Mal brilliantly uses these bands as their muse to create some colossal rock songs, complete with backup singers. They also get in touch with their softer sides on a few of the tracks, exploring a much gentler sound. Although this particular brand of rock can often times sound like stuff reprocessed from the 70’s, Grand Mal successfully channel their efforts into a vigorous and outstanding release. Plus, they seem to be one of the few bands publishing material that can in no way insert "electro" into the band’s description. Thank god. Hopefully they will gain some recognition, as people seem to be finally starting to get over their initial obsession with the wave of mediocre NYC groups- and we all know who those are. Bad Timing opens up with a track of epic proportions titled "First Round K.O." This song really illustrates what I’ve thought about this band all along: they fucking rock. And, they are way cooler than those goddamned Strokes. Damn straight. Anyhow, moving on. "Bad Timing" is another phenomenal track, but not without the aid of the Flaming Lips’ resident renaissance man Steven Drozd. He lends the band his talents by helping out on the piano and organ, just to name a couple. What a guy. Another strength this bands holds is singer/songwriter Bill Whitten’s extraordinary writing talents. The lyrics are at times thoughtful, and sometimes odd; but more often then not, the result is a witty and unique masterpiece. You’ll find no unnecessary mind-numbing lyrical caulking here… "Yeah!" and "Baby!" are nowhere to be found. The rest of the album slows down considerably after that. It takes an odd, folksy/bluesy turn with the track "Flowin’ Tide". It’s the low point of the album, but it falls in under two minutes, so it’s relatively short and painless. No harm done. So there you have it, folks… it might not be ground breaking, but it is without a doubt one of the best releases of 2003. Be sure to pick this one up.
Reviewed by Samantha Herstol
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