Reviews - 4/8/10

We've been very, very backlogged on the reviews lately, and for good reason, but to get the ball rolling again, let's fire up a compare-and-contrast of a couple demos that showed up in the magical PO Box (PO Box 457, LaGrange, IL, 60526) over the last few weeks. In other words, we'll review one longtime favorite of ours and one new lemon-du-jour. Then, after getting through these, we'll move on to the considerable aforementioned backlog even though some of them are probably over a year old at this point.

But first things first, even though they're not technically "first" no more...

Colleen Green - Milo Goes to Compton - So, to start the comparing and contrasting, this 8-song demo starts off with a cover of the Descendents "Good Good Things" and it does a really nice job of dropping the listener into a trance right from the get-go. I was stone-cold sober when I put this disc on and after the first few notes kind of felt like I'd guzzled 3 beers really fast and was sitting on a beach or something. And yes, I realize that that last sentence sounds like I'm favorably comparing Ms. Green's cover to a Best of Jimmy Buffett album, but I'm not. Let's just say that track 1 sounds nothing like the Descendents, nothing like Jimmy Buffett, but is nice and ethereal.
The next 7 songs are all put together with the help of a drum machine which, as discussed at least a couple of times at other points in our meandering reviews, is OK with Beercan brass so long as we get the impression that the drum machine is just being used as a medium to get some songs committed to tape in lieu of taking the time to get a full band together and running the risk of never getting the songs committed to tape. And that's the impression we got here but really, for all we know, Colleen Green could be crazy for drum machines and think them to be superior to real live drummers in all aspects. We would disagree, but the point is, it works for this batch of songs.
For avid readers of the Beercan reviews (probably an oxymoron) you may recognize the vocals to be one and the same from previous pleasant-surprise picks that appeared in the Beercan PO Box, Fenwick and the Have-Mercy's. While the speed and volume has been toned down from the aforementioned bands, Colleen's voice is still mondo-cool and controlled, while emotive and punch-packing. No idea how she's performing this stuff live as far as a backing band (if she uses one at all), but at this point it doesn't really matter. Whether tunes like "I Wanna Be Degraded" or "(I Want A) Nice Boy" ever get a full rave-up, live band treatment or if they remain just-this-side-of-tranquil slow-burners, there is no denying that the Green one knows what she's doing and we approve.
In fact if you disagree and find yourself at a show in the front row, she'll probably call you a bitch or a dirty-ass ho.
Sorry, but there was literally no chance that I'd get through a review of a CD called "Milo Goes to Compton" without making some dumb N.W.A. reference. No chance. (www.myspace.com/c0lleen1)

Matchstickmen - Demo - (www.matchstickmenuk.com)