Stretcher
Heart of Bombs
5.2
I can't help it. It's not so much that it's not good music, or that it's poorly performed . . . it's just that upon hearing each of the four songs on this EP, I am instantly confronted with a huge amount of apathy. I feel like I am listening to something mediocre and proud of it. The players are competent musicians. The drums are relatively lively, fine at keeping time, and allow the group a structure to drape their melodies over. The bassist is about average – uninspired, but not holding back the group. The guitars are . . . well . . . contemporary. Nothing fancy, nothing interesting, and nothing exciting. They are recorded with a huge amount of chorus, giving it that five-guitars-not-quite-tuned sound. The singer reminds me of the style of David Vincent's vocals on the first Morbid Angel record. The songs themselves are like stringing together various breakdowns from other bands. Not slow, but certainly not fast. Its three note music with somewhat grooving beats underneath. The band plays them tightly and straightforward - not that there is anything in here to trip a musician up. The frustrating part of it all is that I can IMAGINE where these songs could go to become more compelling - they just never go there. These are not bad ideas or performances, but they are like a 30 year old living with his parents despite having plenty of money and a decent job. They just seem too comfortable where they are, even though everyone around them can see they are going nowhere. Bottom line: This is a demo, but I believe if this band wants to get someplace, they need to leave the "house", get out and get dirty. They need to add new things, try some bad ideas, fail miserably . . . and learn to succeed. I hope they do, but for now, I can't see any reason to listen to this again.
