I showed this to my roommate and she looked at the name and said, “Well, at least they have all their bases covered.” And while the act has a stupid name, “they” is actually the vehicle of Oscar Albis Rodriguez, who some might remember from the indie rock/punk band Nakatomi Plaza. And as was the case with the final Nakatomi Plaza album, Ghosts, the music is a little mellower than the early full-out assaults heard on the band’s earlier works; there is very little screaming on the eight songs that make up the self-titled CD. Clocking in around twenty-seven minutes, from the first moment the songs have some good catches and hooks. Oscar has an endearing voice that runs somewhere between urgent and vulnerable. His guitar work helps drive the songs and the band on the album is competent and helps to fill out the sound. The harmonies occasionally utilized add a deeper layer to each of the songs. This is a solid debut from which to further Rodriguez’s “solo” career. Fans of Nakatomi Plaza should definitely check this out.
–kurt (self-released; ghostrobotninjabear.wordpress.com)