Dirtmall – “Hello Los Angeles [download]
Maybe it’s the trappings of HBO On-Demand, but there seems to be a Mallrats renaissance of sorts going on as of late. For the uninitiated, the Dirt Mall is the second-class mall that is always close by the ritzy mall. Think of the relationship between the North Shore Shopping Center (ritzy mall) and the Liberty Tree Mall (dirt mall) and you’ve got the basic idea, despite the fact that the Liberty Tree is slightly classier than your average dirt mall. The Meadow Glen Mall would be a great example of a dirt mall, except for the fact that it has no corresponding ritzy mall.
This said, does Dirtmall the band have a ritzier corresponding outfit? If so, would we want to hear them? They might not have the ground-floor grime of Dirtmall’s sound. Their guitars might not be as saturated in filth and their vocals might be less gritty.
There is bona fide substance to Dirtmall’s gutsy, corpulent sound. This gives the song a sort of magnetism. Sure, maybe it’s dirty. Maybe you even got a little on you, but it’s OK. It’s somehow worth it. There’s something in the swagger of the Lynyrd Skynyrd—style guitar work. Something in the swarthiness of the vocals that maybe we feel drawn to because it’s either something different or something we recognize.
Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling – “Episode I – Arrival”
A serpentine, almost seductive guitar announces the beginning of “Episode I – The Arrival,” winding its way through the speakers and making a serious play for your ears. The tone seems viscous - like someone melted down acid molasses and poured it onto the tape. Upon closer examination (and maybe a hint or two), we find out that this band - besides having the longest band name in the history of C.D. on Songs – have somehow made their bass sound like a guitar. Not that in this age of octave pedals and post-production effects that this is a very weird thing, but the process imparts a certain peculiarity to the instrument’s tone in such it takes co-lead with the vocals.
The vocals are a different animal altogether – whereas the guitar has a fluid presence, the vocals are very percussive in nature. The natural counterpoints provide a nice little see-saw upon which “Episode 1 – The Arrival” sits. The drums almost seem rhythmically academic at this point as the vocals are at the percussive forefront of the track. It’s a little difficult to latch on to any sentiment of the vocals, singer Sophia Cacciola almost seems to be offering a Christian Bale-ian “Good for you!” in the refrain, but we’re almost certain that’s not it. Regardless, we wouldn’t mind if the members of Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling did a Christian Bale remix. Hint. Hint. [Full disclosure: DNFMOMD's members happen to be two of the three founders of Boston Band Crush.]
Baliset – “A Time for Rust” [download]
Perhaps it’s like a carnival thrill-ride which brings the rider through all forms of exciting twists, turns and chaotic situations only to deposit the riders back in the queue area. Whatever the case, “A Time for Rust” is a turbulent ride through Baliset’s genre-bending psyche. An occasional light stabs through the thunder clouds and we find ourselves in a parallel universe with angels singing to us before planting their golden sandals squarely on our foreheads and sending us backwards down the slide into the maelstrom again; “ho-ho-ho”-ing at us all the way down.
The maelstrom isn’t such a bad place to be, it’s just a little more disordered and tumultuous than the sun-shiny clarity of above-the-clouds. There’s a lot going on in this song – it’s definitely one of the “Expert” levels on Guitar Hero/Rock Band/whatever your music game of choice is. This makes things a little more difficult to grasp onto, but on the other hand, it’s a ride that you immediately want to take again.
Marc Pinansky – “As a Child” [download]
Marc Pinansky’s solo “As a Child” gives the world a chance to see exactly what he is made of musically, and the results are enjoyably revealing. “As a Child” doesn’t have any of the explosive rawk-out! theatrics that are a usual hallmark of Pinansky’s full-time band gig, but one can hear the seedling of the Township sound in Pinansky’s commitment to large-form melody as well as the quick-phrase micromelodies that make up a solid hook.
In the case of “As a Child,” the hook comes in the form of a simple five-note phrase performed by the ultimate easy-going, lazy-river instrument possible – the human whistle. This melody buries itself deeply into the brain after about two-measures. Seriously. You’re going to be whistling this to yourself tonight in Target or at the Laundromat or wherever. Pinansky’s vocal performance goes right along with the loping feel of this song – there’s the occasional amping-up of the energy level that occurs around 1:37 of the track that makes you realize that there is a tremendous energy inside of this man; he simply knows how to measure his performance in such a way that he reaches dynamic perfection.
“As a Child” calls to mind early Cat Stevens, before he got all conscious about stuff and changed his name. This song is quaint, but not in such the way that you’d want to pinch its cheeks or tousle its hair. It’s more of an invitation from Pinansky to spend a lazy late-summer afternoon on the porch, enjoying the breeze and talking about the way things used to be. And who wouldn’t enjoy that?
Want to submit your band's song to C.D. On Songs?
To be reviewed in a C.D. On Songs column:
- Be a Boston-based band/artist.
- Email a single mp3/m4a/etc. (or a download link to one) to cdonsongs (at) gmail (dot) com, with the subject line "C.D. on Songs" (DO NOT send us a bunch of songs and make us pick, we will ignore you). We require a file – not a streaming link.
- Include album cover art if you have any. If you don't, a band photo or logo is acceptable.
- We will assume that we have your permission to make the song downloadable on Boston Band Crush (readers will want to hear it, after all).
- If that's not ok with you, say so and provide us with a link to the song on an embeddable player like ReverbNation – something we can include in the post (and not just link to).
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