 Various
Artists collaboration
"Nightmare Variations" CD
Secret
Decoder Records
Genres: experimental rock, indie rock
Jul 21 - 27 2003 |
Nightmare
Variations is a five-track collection of long songs created,
edited, and mixed in a bizarre collaborative project that is explained
in better detail than I could ever give here.
The results of a long, year and a half process combing the talents of Michael
Catalano, DW Dunphy, Michael Finnerty, Inbal
Kahanov, and Justin Vellucci are powerful musical pieces
that rely largely on the guitar. The second track is an excellent example;
its spacey guitarwork is heaven to the ears, be it a semi-metal solo
or delicate, folk-esque strumming. There is lots of instrumentalism on
Nightmare Variations, although that is not to say there aren't
vocals. The third track, for example, is a simple guitar-and-voice pop
tune. A rare treat is the end of the fourth track, which skims through
a bunch of segments of songs like somebody rapidly surfing the
channels on a television.
Altogether, this is a very well-executed project; it's clear that
there is a lot of talent being displayed on Nightmare Variations.
Although the songwriting is definitely rich in melody, it would be a
stretch for the average person to listen to this album more than a few
times. Pop songs can only be long if they're jam-packed with melody; Nightmare
Variations is just a bit too drawn-out.
80%
Matt Shimmer [Vitals:
5 tracks, distributed by the
label, released 2003] |
