SHORT SCALE: CD reviews in 300 words or less

By Rachel Heisler

CD review: Infected Mushroom, Legend of the Black Shawarma (Perfecto Records)

People don’t like change. We have the tendency to fear that with change will come something we don’t like or understand. Changes can certainly make life better, but there’s always the possibility that change will let you down. Infected Mushroom’s latest release, Legend of the Black Shawarma, is in no means a disaster, but their sound has changed, and it’s a bit of a let-down, considering how busy, trippy, exciting and boundary-bashing their psy-trance music has been in the past. There was a certain level of musical prowess expected here, but what the L.A.-based electronic duo pumped out is an especially straight style of electro-metal-rock, one that uses much fewer time sig changes, incorporates fewer truly exciting musical switch-ups and feeds on less technical ingenuity than before.

“Saeed” has a thumping beat that should have the ability to hook ravers around the world. Its melody has a weird movie soundtrack thing going on, and there’s something lacking on this song — and the disk as a whole. It’s hard to pin-point exactly, but basically it lacks … spontaneity … . Track after track vocalist Amit “Duvdev” Duvedevani and keyboardist Erez Eisen tease with the beginnings of what should become gripping techno masterpieces, but right at the crucial moment of climax go limp. They also bring in guest artists like Perry Farrell and Jonathan Davis, then push their parts so far into the backdrop that they are unrecognizable. You have to ask: “Why did they bother?”

Legend of the Black Shawarma needed more. More gusto, more passion, more transcendental leeway. But being this is only their eighth album, there are always future opportunities to twist the knobs of experimentation, and refine their trance craft further.

CD review: Brian Bonz & the Dot Hongs, From Sumi To Japan (Triple Crown Records) 

I love Brian Bonz and I want him to be my boyfriend.

It’s not his baby face or cute, curly-ass brown hair that does it for me, though those don’t hurt, it’s the playful ambient/indie music he writes that gets me squirming in my seat! From the first whispy notes of “Two Tree Blockade”, to the last chorus of “Goodnight, Captain Revelstoke”, From Sumi To Japan is a hit.  Super fans of Benjamin Gibbard/Death Cab For Cutie/Postal Service, will either love Bonz or find the similarities between the bands too close for comfort, but hell, if you like one you may as well like the other.

Bonz has this nice, subtle way of changing tempo and volume (I.e. “Christa McCauliffe’s Cacophony (Reprise)”); it’s smooth and seductive in all the right ways and places. And that’s just the music: His voice takes the songs to whole new levels … he even manages to make the “fuck” words sound sensual. The whole package is dripping with dreaminess and it’s a CD that you can put on repeat, crank up to 11 and fall back on, knowing that the melodies will catch you as you do. The Brooklyn native puts emphasis on his songs’ meanings, but it’s the type of recording that can easily get by on sound alone. It’s so listener-friendly and expressive that it’s possible to get the gist of the song without paying too close attention to the words Bonz is singing. The emotions are worn on the album’s sleeve, as it were.

Brian Bonz is young, vibrant and bursting with a fluid energy that comes across in each of his songs. He is one to keep an eye on in the coming years, because this, hopefully, is just the beginning. With continued dedication and a few lucky breaks along the way, this guy may be unstoppable.

CD review: Nathan Lee, Risk Everything (One Revolution Entertainment)

There is only one thing that makes religious rock-n-roll stand out from non-religious rock-n-roll:  lyrics. If you don’t pay close attention to what singer/songwriter/pianist Nathan Lee is saying, you’d never realize he’s dishing on religion. The artwork that accompanies his CD doesn’t point to any religious affiliation, and all Lee is quoted as saying is: “I sing to broken people because I am one”, so it’s easy to over-look the religious overtones in his music. Once aware of song titles like “El Diablo Y El Angel” and “Bring Down the Fire”, the pieces start coming together, and in the end, there’s no beating around the burning bush: Nathan Lee is a faith-based rocker.

For those who enjoy their tunes infused with theology, Lee will not disappoint, with numerous references to mercy, crucifixes and crosses. His gritty, intense vocals help to bring out the urgency in his words of personal journey and salvation. For those unconcerned with the WWJD aspect, his brand of rock/pop is strong in all the right places. Strings on “Bleeding Black” are expressive and perfectly infused with Lee’s delicate piano; diversity is displayed when pumped-up numbers are followed by emotional ballads; and rich bass lines, like on “Open Road”, are bold enough to carry entire songs.

Lee is nothing if not passionate about music. Risk Everything is an apt title for his recent release, as he did in fact give up various business ventures in order to follow the call of the music. That call is what makes Lee’s collection of work beautiful and powerful enough to support his unwavering messages of faith.