Apoptygma Berzerk
Harmonizer
Metropolis

Fu Manchu
California Crossing
Sony

The Osirus Project
Paciiyderm: A Journey
Indie

JOHN MAYER |

ROOM FOR SQUARE!

John Mayer
Room for Squares
Columbia/Sony

When this album album
arrived, | played it at first
chance. Needless to say, | am
a great fan of Apoptygma
Berzerk and was excited
about this release. | was sur-
prised at the music emanat-
ing from my headphones this
album represents a shift in
their sound.

According to Metropolis
Records, “Electro, synth-pop,
trance, and EBM sounds are

In these days of angst-
filled, droning, dissonant nu-
metal, it's good to see that
someone has managed to
stick to good old-fashioned
formulated rock.

If you are looking for inno-
vation, complex beats or
intriguing melodic composi-
tion, you best go buy some
IDM, or perhaps some Yanni.
No, these boys will never be
rocket scientists by any

Paciiyderm: A journey was
one of the worst ambient
albums that | have ever had
the misfortune to hear. It is
full of ill-made loops, cacoph-
onic sounds, and all around
general discord. Nothing
flows in a nice succession,
and the only thing you come
to expect as you listen to this
CD is that something else is
not going to sound right in the
next track. Just when some-

John Mayer is closer to
blues than to pop but you
can’t place him in just one
category—always the mark
of a musician worth listening
to. If | might say so, Room for
Squares (a title that was
probably “stolen” from Hank
Mobley’s 1963 album No
Room for Squares) compli-
ments my CD player.

Mayer is constantly com-
pared to artists such as Sting,
Dave Matthews, and The
Police. He started listening to
Stevie Ray Vaughn when he

melted and blended together
to form a harmony unlike no
other.” | could not agree more.
Apoptygma Berzerk creates
a new sound that is quite high
in energy, and with crisp elec-
tronic: sounds the overall
effect is quite beautiful.
Die-hard fans may not like
this change, as a lot of the
industrial sound is gone, but
Stephan Groth’s | slightly-
haunting voice is ever pre-
sent throughout the album.

regard, but they sure know
how to rock.

Fu Manchu has seemed to
make a huge step with this
album, it seems lead vocalist
and guitarist Scott Hill decid-
ed to take some singing
lessons somewhere between
this album and King of the
Road, the groups last
endeavour, which might
make seasoned Fu fans
scratch their heads.

thing sounds promising, the
inevitable out of tune, rhythm,
or context (choose any or all
of the above) sample ruins it.
There were some tracks that
were not as discordant, but
unfortunately, they also
weren't very interesting. The
tracks that had better mixing
and layering also had less
variation in the beats and
sounds that were used. The
overall impression of the
album fluctuates between

was only 13, and from that
day on, knew that writing
music was what he wanted to
do. But he doesn’t stop there.
In his own words Mayer
“wanted to be listenable and
play tunes that other people
could play but not the way |
play them.” He met his goal
after playing lots of gigs,
recording solo albums and
even studying music for a
while. Studying in Atlanta
was probably one of the best
things he could have done
since it introduced him to a
number of other songwriters

| recommend this album to
anyone interested in electron-
ic sounds. It is not often that i
listen to a new cd on repeat
many times in a row.

—Mark

On that note, if you are
looking for insightful social
commentary and witticisms,
then S.O.L, Paco, go buy an
Alanis CD. These boys are far
to busy rockin’ to write poetry.

Old Fu Fans might seem a
little hesitant at first, the
group has definitely taken
slightly different approach to
this album than the ones you
might be used to, but after
only a few minutes you can
tell the guys are getting down

absolute cacophony and
melodic boredom. While it
would make a good sound-
track for a record executive’s
nightmare, it does not make a
very good soundtrack for any-
thing else. While some things
in the album, such as the use
of interesting bell sounds,
show promise, there are too
many elements that make
this particular CD a terrible
listening experience. | would
give this artist some time to

and the local press eventual-
ly picked up on his talent.
The Atlanta CitySearch
described him as being able
to “captivate a crowd with his
six-string guitar and honest
lyrics”

March 2000 brought his
success however when
Mayer was introduced to both
David LaBruyere (bass) and
Nir Zidkiyahu (drums) as well
as producer Jack Joseph
Puig who has the experience
of producing for Eric Clapton,
Weezer, and the Black
Crowes, to name a few.

See more at
www.metropolis-
records.com and
www.apoptygma.eu.org

to business as usual.
Totally Bitchin’.

—Ryan

mature in his field before | go
rushing to purchase any
future endeavors.

—Dana

Mayers’ love of the music
which he writes comes shin-
ing through each track on
Room for Squares. The best
feeling in life he claims, “is
just walking, just being, the
night that | finish a song.”

The light grass-roots sin-
cerity of John Mayer is what
gives Room for Squares its
energy, earnestness, and
success. Keep an eye out for
this one.

—Kevin Milos