Volcano Boy

One Way by Drew O'Doherty

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 14:21:33 -0600

I don't know anything about Drew O'Doherty, or whether "One Way" is representative of his style. If it is, Drew might appeal to coffee house acoustic music fans. "One Way" is a narcotic, brooding ballad about dead ends, rules, and relationships, utilizing an extended metaphor about cars and driving. There's no discernible chorus, just an ongoing reflection in a slow, plaintive voice. The tasty acoustic guitar, accompanied only by ambient drums, draws comparisons to Beck's Sea ChangeCD, some elements of Death Cab For Cutie, and even Worcester's Walter The Orange Ocean. If you like a stinging ballad that lets your thoughts swim down in your beer, this is it.

--Matt Robert

Drew O'Doherty plays Friday March 7, 2008 at The Hotel Vernon in Worcester along withThe Curtain Society and Aloud

For more information visit www.drewodoherty.com

One Way by Drew O'Doherty (mp3)

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Stop Snitching by The Perennials

Mon, 03 Mar 2008 15:23:55 -0600

This is pretty cool and not what I was expecting at all. I listened to a couple songs on this bands MySpace a couple weeks ago and kind of threw them in the dance punk category, a genre which I despise, and didn't really think much about them again. This has me wondering if those songs are indicative of what the band sounds like or if this song is a better example.

Stop Snitching is really different. I wish the production was a little better because it seems like there is a great deal of stuff going on and I'd really like to hear all of it. It could be the crappy speakers I am listing to this on however.

It's a really interesting song that I can't quite place the influences on. These folks are listening to some cool music to put this out though. Thumbs up from me, I'll tell you that much. Hope I get to go see them around here soon. Take a listen for yourself.

- Jimmy

The Perennials play Tammany Hall 3/22/08
Read more about them at myspace.com/perennialsareforever

Stop Snitching by The Perennials (mp3)

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All of the Time by Luke MacNeil

Mon, 16 Apr 2007 21:20:13 -0500

While listening to Luke MacNeil's tune All of the Time, there was something that I couldn't put my finger on. It has all of the color, emotion and execution of the contemporary singer/songwriter, but there is something else there. Then I read through his web site and I think I have figured it out. The man has an all reaching appreciation for music, including a history with metal that seems to be far reaching. That is what I hear: the melodic twists of classic Pantera and Dream Theater laid over the groove of the modern day singer/songwriter. I know, I know, it sounds like a weird mix, but it works, it works very well in fact. I am not saying that the whole melody harkens back to classic prog metal, but there are turns throughout and especially in the middle eight that made me double take for a moment, until I realized how well it worked.

The song on the whole is very nice and the recording makes me think that Mr. MacNeil handles playing solo very well, which is not as easy to pull off as it may seem.

This is someone that all contemporary singer/songwriter and acoustic groove fans should check out.

for more information visit www.lukemacneil.com

Luke MacNeil - All of the Time (mp3)

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Shame by Me And The Kid

Thu, 12 Apr 2007 21:40:00 -0500

I am a pretty big fan of Black Sabbath. I am an even bigger fan of Black Sabbath covers. See, Black Sabbath, at least early Black Sabbath, were never the best musicians on the block. The stuff was always a bit sloppy. Wow are those songs good though. It is when you hear a tighter band cover a Sabbath song though that it is really mind blowing how good those songs are. Such might be the case with Shame by Me and the Kid.

Let me state first that this is a great song. Not a good song, but a great song. The

23 Years by OSB

Wed, 11 Apr 2007 12:03:56 -0500

Over the past few years, OSB has consistently churned out radio-ready pop songs. From their first release, the Grey Area, to their well attended live shows, OSB has displayed a polish that is rare in the local clubs.

Their song, 23 Years, keeps them on that path. The song follows the mold of a good, pop/rock radio song. 23 Years finds the middle of the road right from the beginning and never loses track. With the exception of a few production moves that I am not fond of (the echoing reverb at phrase endings is a little much for me), this track seems to take you right where you would expect and is executed smoothly.

From just listening to 23 Years, I think it is safe to say that you WXLO-heads out there have a local band that can easily compete with your favorite national bands, so go out there and take them as your own while you still can.

--Yeti

For more information visit www.osbband.com

OSB - 23 Years (mp3)

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And Sang P by Bovachevo

Tue, 10 Apr 2007 18:26:41 -0500

Hopefully, someone on the Bovachevo team has sent their material to every videogame developer and every producer of those crotch-busting, X Games-style skateboarding and motocross videos I see on television now and then.

Bovachevo's instrumental track "And Sang P" is a two minute and fifteen second tantrum of shifting time signatures (or maybe they don't shift, what do I know), pounding drums and repetitive, crunchy guitar riffs with a dissonant, spidery guitar solo circling above the whole affair; it would be great background music for some violent video game or a movie chase scene. If forced to use the standard music review clich

Better and Better by Lisa Lawrence

Fri, 16 Mar 2007 10:33:24 -0500

When I was approached by Volcano Boy to write these one song reviews, I made a promise to myself to not hold back; to be as honest as possible. So here it goes.

Better and Better by Lisa Lawrence needs to get just that. Harmonically and instrumentally, this song is just fine. I really like the synth accents that really make the song jump at you when you first listen. Melodically and vocally, this songs suffers. Performance problems abound as Ms. Lawrence struggles to keep up rhythmically and her pitch is all over the place. The chorus, what should be the main hook of this song, is nearly stifled by the singers inability to catch her breath and stay in time.

Looking beyond the performance, this song still does little for me. Ms. Lawrence is trying her damnedest to cram in as many syllables as possible into three minutes. This causes the melody to lose it's arch, it's bite. The song becomes a jumbled ramble that loses sight of its original intent.

There is a good base here and some good ideas, but the overzealous Ms. Lawrence took this songs a few steps too far. With some reigning in, her songwriting could develop nicely.

--Yeti

for more information visit www.lisalawrencerocks.com

Lisa Lawrence - Better and Better (mp3)

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Sudafed & Maker's Mark by Preacher Roe

Sun, 11 Mar 2007 23:00:00 -0500

Preacher Roe has a great little ditty on their myspace page entitled "Roadside Crosses". Its dark, low-fi twang really puts my imagination into an uproar. The song really stuck with me. Its simplistic perfection haunted me all day. Each note evoking images of Jack Daniel's fueled revolver-ridden road trips.

Needless to say, I dug the song.

Unfortunately, the kind folks in charge didn’t ask me to review that song. No kind reader, I was left with the unenviable task of trying to find something to write about "Sudafed & Maker's Mark". Stripped of all the charms that made Crosses so enthralling, S&M, does everything that can be expected of a song on its most basic levels. It begins, it ends, and does seemingly everything in its power to avoid anything interesting in-between. It’s an upbeat little number with the fidelity and attack reminiscent of Murmur era REM. But truth be told, the whole thing just seems unfinished.

I have no doubt that there is a cool song in here somewhere. What I’ve viewed as a failed experiment in upbeat pop, could very well be a successful expedition into jangily blandness, if the song writing aptitude shown in Crosses is any indication. Preacher Roe is certainly in control on its own whiskey-driven destiny, but it is difficult to believe anyone would set out to write anything that screamed “full length album filler” as much as this tedious track does.

By all means check these guys out, they definitely have a lot to offer. But tread carefully if you stumble upon this track, and take the title as a warning – because Sudafed & Maker's Mark just ain’t good for you.

-- Michael Mars Jr.

For more information visit www.myspace.com/preacherroe

Preacher Roe - Sudafed & Maker's Mark (mp3)

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You Say by Lusting Kay

Fri, 02 Mar 2007 09:51:58 -0600

When the MP3 of Lusting Kay’s “You Say” was emailed to me, I listened to the first few seconds of the fuzzy guitar riff and stuttering drums that open the song and hit pause, searching my huge, pulsating brain for songs it reminded me of from days of yore, or maybe olden times. I landed on Smackmelon’s eponymous 1994 EP on Cherrydisc Records. I love that record. I'm not sure what I heard on this MP3 that reminded me of it, and as I listened to the rest of “You Say” I quickly forgot about Smackmelon and instead remembered the time my mother made quiche when company was coming over and forgot to put in the eggs.

I'm not making that up. She put empty pie crusts in the oven to bake, and only when she opened the oven door to check on them did she realize that she'd left the filling in a bowl on the counter. Now, there’s nothing inherently wrong with empty pie crusts, but when people are expecting quiche, empty shells are a disappointment.

“You Say” is clearly a demo, four minutes and ten seconds of distorted guitar, simple melody, some really earnest drumming, and a few backwards cymbal effects for ear candy. That said, I can’t help but think of it as a good idea for a song instead of an actual song. The cool ideas are derailed by a lack of solid song structure; I know that following a formula when writing songs sounds like something to be avoided, but if you’re going to reinvent the wheel, you should have a pretty good idea of how wheels are made to begin with. Several times during the song I get the feeling that I’m listening to a sort of placeholder, a part of the song where there’s just nothing happening. Maybe the band plans to go back and fill in these barren spots later. If they do, I’d love to hear the final product.

The drumming is frenetic to the point of distraction, and I would suggest to the drummer that there can be passion in restraint, and that music isn’t only the notes but the spaces between as well.

If this song was shorter by at least a minute and had a real bridge, I’d like it a lot more. If the bass didn’t mirror the guitar through the entire song I’d like it even more than that, and if the melody was a little more adventurous, I’d ask this song if it maybe wanted to do something later, like see a movie or like, I don’t know, make-out and stuff.

-- Sagacious C

for more information visit www.myspace.com/lustingkay

Lusting Kay - You Say (mp3)

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Requiem for Rebirth by Snow Ghost

Fri, 23 Feb 2007 15:12:37 -0600

WTF?

Okay as bizarre as this is going to sound, imagine one night Mark E Smith (of The Fall) is out at the club. You know, he’s raising the roof and he bumps into none other than Lil’ John. They talk and decide they have a lot in common, and they hit it off. They go back to Lil’s studio, make mad passionate crunk love and Requiem for Rebirth is what pops out nine months later.

This is original, and it is original in the same way Beck achieves originality by taking styles no one would ever think of combining and putting them together. Does it work here? For shear novelties sake I am going to say it does. It’s the kind of thing you link to your friends, specifically if they are fans of The Fall and say, “listen to this absurdity.”I will download this and keep it on my shuffle just so it will come up and make me smile. I am not sure if the aim here is to try and be funny or not but this song most definitely is funny.

I would love to hear the actual thought process behind this song and find out exactly what Snow Ghost was trying to accomplish here. I cannot really understand what is being said, which kind of adds to the mouth droppedness of the whole thing. What is a requiem for rebirth you may ask? Well it might be “a bloody thirsty musical holocaust satanic revival of the uptight”, which is cool I guess. I mean it’s probably about time for a bloody satanic musical holocaust. My weekend is wide-open Mr. The Snow Ghost. Hit me up.

---Jimmy O

for more information visit www.myspace.com/thesnowghost

Snow Ghost - Requiem for Rebirth (mp3)

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Photograph by Bean Pickers Union

Tue, 20 Feb 2007 15:30:00 -0600

Story songs can be real iffy. I find them to be pretty difficult most of the time, with the music and the tale not jiving as one. Chuck Melchin of the Bean Pickers Union has found a nice melding with Photograph.

This dark and murky number tells a dark and murky tale of destruction and loss. The eerie, octave piano melody lays the framework for the story, as it lies on top of tremolo drenched rhythm guitar. Melchin is in great voice; confident, yet frail. Photograph falls in line with many story song by the likes of the Band or Neil Young; sparse and disconcerting, yet familiar. Overall, this a well-crafted song that beautifully melds words and music to bring it's story across.

-- Yeti

for more information visit www.myspace.com/beanpickersunion

Bean Pickers Union - Photograph (mp3)

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Favorite Blue by Pop

Fri, 16 Feb 2007 23:00:00 -0600

So this starts with a nice whispy 70’s style acoustic chord progression and some tasteful lead guitar when suddenly there’s a singer who’s somehow managed to find himself at the bottom of a deep crevasse and I want to throw him a caribiner and a rope. Dude, there’s reverb and then there’s singing from atop a Mayan temple into a canyon. The pre chorus has a really nice melody reminiscent of 60’s psychedelic country that goes smoothly into a Shins type chorus.

An obviously good lead guitarist is an asset and the jazzy solo in the middle works but the noodling between every phrase in the verse is like that slab of pasty bun in the middle of my otherwise delicious big mac. The singer has a slightly frail voice which does not detract but trying to make it sound like Thor is sending us proclamations from Asgard might be the wrong way to go.

I didn’t mind this tune though and would like to hear more.

--Sally

for more information visit www.myspace.com/thisbandcalledpop

Pop - Favorite Blue (mp3)

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Foggy Notion by Craig

Fri, 16 Feb 2007 08:43:25 -0600

The first thing that comes to mind when hearing this song is 90

Luv by Houston Bernard

Thu, 15 Feb 2007 09:50:00 -0600

OK, so we’ve got some noisy blips and beats into a pretty piano riff with some bluesy type vocals. Think Ben Harper meets a Cure progression with a stick up its ass - seriously, that’s one stiff programmed drum beat. The one note chorus is a cool idea and Houston’s got a decent voice but the falsetto at the end of each one makes me want to murder small and infirm children.

Like the intro there are distorted blips and percussive things floating in and out that sound like they were a good idea at 3:30 am after some PBR’s and a good spliff but sound tacked on. Synthesized keys add to the cheese but there is some potential here. The drums dropping in and out work well to create a mood, the baroque arrangement is interesting and the melody carries you forward, although I feel there’s some sort of climax that never happens. You know, it could be the soundtrack to the girl looking wistfully out of the bus window as she leaves her summer love to return to the drudgery of junior year.

--Sally

for more information visit www.myspace.com/houstonbernardlover

Houston Bernard - Luv (mp3)

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Call for Songs

Mon, 12 Feb 2007 21:35:18 -0600

We are revisiting a era in music that hasn't been seen in years, the single is once again king. iTunes as well as others are selling millions upon millions of these $.99 jewels. It seems that peoples attention spans at an all time low. Here at www.volcanoboy.com we want to embrace the idea of "the single" rather than lament the days of the long playing record. Sure we love a good album, something we can digest like a 5 course meal, but time is scarce and we have access to thousands of musical choices at any given moment.

We are looking for your best single. We want to review it for you and then tell the internet just how bad or good it is. All you need to do is email us a link to a mp3 or email us a mp3, the choice is yours.

The only catch is that you must be from the Central Massachusetts area or have some sort of connection to the area.

Login or register on the site, and send us a personal message (PM) with a direct link to your mp3 and your website address so we can learn a little about you. If you don't have our mp3 online for us to download you can email it to us at onesongreview@gmail.com

We look forward to hearing from you.

ps. we are also looking for writers, let us know if you are interested.