"Demo Reviews"
Sponsored In Part By
Moralchaos - Illiterate Jazz
Lansing, MI (http://www.mp3.com/moralchaos)
This 9-song D.A.M. (Digital Automatic Music) CD was sent in for review
by Patrick Ondrus, long-time Renegade staff writer whose Moralchaos
CD is available online at MP3.com. For those of you unfamiliar with MP3,
it's a popular format for accessing music online, and MP3.com is a site
teeming with MP3 music from independent musicians; like most music websites,
it allows you to check out new music online before deciding whether or
not to buy it.
Enough of the MP3 intro, though. This CD is a soft-touch, meandering,
experimental journey by someone with a clear understanding of music but
no clearly planned direction. If you like never knowing what to expect
next, check the music out on the website to see if it's up your alley.
- Geoff Wilbur
Lynda Mandolyn - Star Route 2 EP
Evil Eye Records, P.O. Box 640264, SF, CA 94164-0264
Detroiter Lynda Mandolyn may have moved west, but that doesn't mean we
should lose sight of her musical prowess. This five-song EP delivers somewhat
psychedelic pop a little to the punk side of a '90s-fied Go-Gos. Personal
favorite tracks are the somewhat haunting "I'm Coming Down" and the soft,
almost indiefied-Beatles-ish "Eyelite."
- Geoff Wilbur
Sin Embargo - Super Fugue
4891 W. Genesee Road, Lapeer, MI 48446-3633
The Kipp brothers (Eric and Kyle) are joined on drums by Jason Hofer on
this release. Veterans of the mid/east Michigan scene though still pretty
young, these guys rock the house live. Musically, Sin Embargo delivers
a CD of loud, raucous, tuneful, punk-based hard alt-rock; this CD does
a pretty good job of capturing the band's live energy. Personal favorites
include "Rotund" and "Homemade Water."
- Geoff Wilbur