|
|
Regular Columnists |
|
CD REVIEW: Heros Severum, "Wonderful Educated Bear"
By David Lockeretz - 01/27/2003 - 09:36 PM EST
Artist: Band: Heros Severum
Album: Wonderful Educated Bear
CD Review:
With an ultramodern sound and politically conscious lyrics that veer between direct and cryptic, is it any wonder that Heros Severum recorded this CD in Athens, Georgia?
The same city that gave us the quirky hipness of REM and the B-52s has provided a band that breaks all the rules--and just might get away with it.
Heros Severum are musically tight and lyrically creative. Their songs are uncompromising and not very user friendly at first--but they make sense. Heros Severum is not trying to show off; they are using complex music to reflect a complex society. Odd time signatures, synocpated stops and starts and unpredictable chord progressions abound. The vocals consist of half-singing, half-shouting, a la Devo, Black Flag, Minor Threat et al. My favorite song on the CD is "Driving In A Perpetual Summer", which features powerful lyrics about the environment, politics and industry, and an engaging dialogue between drums, guitars and vocals.
What I like most about Heros Severum is how they use wide variety of sounds, textures and musical devices and still have a consistent sound--one that does not resemble any other band out there. It's powerful without being loud, original without calling attention to itself.
Maybe it's not something I'd listen to every single day--but I respect Heros Severum's highly orignal vision and concept. Their original brand of music--both cerebral and aggressive--serves as a timely message to an industry that is dominated more and more by formulaic acts. To quote one of their own songs, Heros Severum are "no slouches when it comes to intellect."
For more information about them, visit www.twoshedsmusic.com.
[ Current Articles | Archives ]
|
|
|
|