|
|
|
BANDS: Punk
& Ska INTERESTS: Venues ETC... About
LOTD
|
Used Alien
Mind: Positive Mental Theme
Used Alien Mind, the one-man band of Mike Leporte, brings a hash of style together for his first release, Positive Mental Theme. UAM either intended this album to showcase his stylistic range or to get as many songs as possible out on one release. Either way, the rash swings from space-rock to punk make for an interesting listening experience and the basis for what could turn out to be solid work if he sticks to space rock and inspired darkness. Kid Mental opens the album with an almost deliberate Clash knockoff, and its the only song completely out of line with the rest of the tracks. It has the distorted vocal scratch and small-space recording feel of classic early punk. Its a good track just out of place. Plus, every modern artist needs to tread very carefully on the holy ground of the Clash. The Dirtbombs immediately switches gears to minor-key grit and an actual melody. Ive discovered that sometimes the best track on an album is number two, and The Dirtbombs is a strong number two. Tomorrow Never Comes continues the strange crashing feeling of the album, dropping even further from initial punk energy, past cigarette smoking cool, to nearly-spoken, nearly-acoustic sour times. Leporte also sings an octave lower on this track, and I think his voice is better for it. Positive Mental Theme then heads slightly uphill, before giving up the ghost and descending to shadows again. UAM knows his space rock. Through most of this album I found myself tuning out his voice, which was tiresome by the end of the overlong fifteen-song set, to listen to the layers of guitar and electronic effects. Several songs, especially Inside, Pale White Face, and Waiting have beautiful fuzz and layers upon layers of sound that are well-crafted somewhere between the rambling of Pink Floyd and the continued anticlimax of Radiohead. His voice is the problem! Leporte does not have great vocal skill; hes not good or bad enough to be good. Strip the vocals from several of these songs, and it would be a fantastic album specifically Machine Gun Love and Pay Attention, where the falsetto Leporte imposes is just painful. The more I listen to this album, the more I hope UAM will head for ambient space rock with tinges of punk. He could corner a market and make a truly stellar experience. Until then, several of these tracks are worth attention. If you skip the first track, Positive Mental Theme is great background music to tune into and out of, perhaps as you decorate your newest pair of plaid pants with stars and moons.
This album can be purchased at CD Baby About LOTD Contact/Staff Advertise Home All content © LEFT OFF THE DIAL 2001-2005. All rights reserved. |
