October 7 2002

Deadsy

Commencement
Elementree/Dreamworks
2002

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Long awaited, and long in
the making Commencement
is the first effort by California’s
new breed of 80’s industrial
cyborgs, Deadsy. Deadsy
sound like Orgy and other
similar 80’s revival bands, but
Deadsy are probably the most
convincing of the bunch.

Their image is also some-
thing to behold, with each
member supposedly repre-
senting some branch of soci-
ety wearing only specialised
colours and symbols to reflect
something that’s probably
really important, but is totally
lost on me.

With all this high symbolism,
Deadsy should be really good,
but most of their songs are

somewhat similar, all falling
into a common mould that
includes a lot of keyboards,
mostly fairly melodic, mid-
tempo pop songs. Deadsy are
definitely best when they are
rocking out, but unfortunately,
only two songs, The Key to
Gramercy Park and Winners,
really capture this feeling. The
good news is that since these
two songs are their most
recent efforts, and more
indicative of where the band is
headed nowadays, Deadsy’s
next album is sure to rock, but
for now Commencement is a
fine effort.

—Kathleen

RAVAN ABAMS * DEMOLITION

Ryan Adams

Demolition

Lost Highway Records 2002

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Ryan

Adams’ second

Indie Spotlight
Rab pi agle s oe

Irdrisi. Owl. can only be described
as arty. Cacophonic ambient music
bombards your senses as you listen
to this CD. The songs are construct- |
ed from samples, looped together
and heavily distorted, but crafted so
that a sense of unity still binds them
and the CD together into a coherent
package. The look and sound of

Irdrisi_ Owl minimalist and clean, and all the songs have

ring out with pis of clinical detachment, putting them into -

the position of being analysed not as a song, but as a spec-
imen. oe ee mages ag

release, Demolition, is a solid
retrospective of one year in
his whirlwind life. This album
was recorded with no
touchups, just 2 full days of
hard work and amazing
music. Ryan's style is eclectic,
with soft country backdrops,
rifts of classic rock and soulful
lyrics that allow you to slip into
your own world.

Fans of Junkhouse, Tom
Cochrane and Tom Waits will
hear songs such as “You Will
Always be the Same” and
“Desire” and immediately think
of the bluesy sounds that
these artists also produce.
Ryan generates music that
puts your thoughts in prospec-
tive and gives you a chance to
step back and reflect on life.
This album is a great stress
reliever just before or after a
midterm study session.

Erin

Theory of a Deadman
Theory of a Deadman
Universal 2002
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Theory of a Deadman, and
their self titled debut is what
most musicians wished they

had. Tyler Connolly,
vocals/guitar, met Chad
Kroeger at a _ party in

Vancouver and managed to
get a demo tape to him.
Kroeger liked what he heard
and signed them to 604
Records. Theory of a
Deadman was the first band
signed to 604 _ records
(Kroeger’s record label).
Connolly was also contributed
to the song “Hero” with some
guitar work.

Sporting the ever so popular
‘Parent Advisery’ label, this
album isn’t exactly offensive, it
just claims all those “healthy”
words that people are saying

by the time they’re twelve any-

ways. The lyrics are strong;
most of the major themes are
covered. Connolly’s voice is
strong and easily brings new
levels to the sound. Another
worthy note, half these songs
were co-written by Kroeger
with Connolly.

The music has a heavier
alternative sound, ranging
from the guitar driven
“Invisible Man” to the some-
what lighter sounds of “The
Last Song”. Connolly The
band has talent and their sin-
gle “Nothing Could Come
Between Us’ is rising in the
charts well, along with their
album, which has already
gone platinum.

---Stephanie

Tonic
Head On Straight
Universal 2002
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Okay, honesty time: before
this album, I'd only ever heard
one Tonic song before, ever,
and | can’t even remember
what it was called. Therefore |
was surprised to find that I’ve
apparently been missing out.
Tonic has put together a CD
that kicks more ass than a
five-legqged man in an ass-
kicking contest.

It's been three years since
Tonic’s last album, “Sugar’,

Over The Edge Page 8

and in that time the Los
Angeles-based trio has been
winding down the road to con-
nect with fans, while trying to
keep relationships back home
from exploding in a
Chernobyl-like fashion. The
band credits these experi-
ences with making this their
most personal, soul-baring
album to date.

Melodic electric rock stuff
abounds here, from start to
finish. Tonic has chosen a
heartfelt, thoughtful approach
on “Head On Straight’. That
isn’t to say that their music is
all soft and squooshy; tracks
like “Liar? mix it up a bit to
keep the listener entertained
throughout the album. The
only downside here is that it
isn’t a terribly experimental
album. But listen to it anyway.
| dare you.

---Steph

Lifehouse

Stanley Climbfall
DreamWorks/Universal
2002

KKK

*kx*x* (Liner Notes)

In short, Stanley Climbfall,
the second release from
Jason Wade, Sergio Andrade
and Rick Woolstenhulme (aka
Lifehouse) was adequate. The
lyrics are quite good, the
music is not bad, but it doesn’t

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