New tracks from Devastations, Ween and... Ricki Lee?!
Publisher: Shock Records
Tue, 6 December 2005
by: Fazz
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Those lovely people over at Shock Records have recently been supplying all of us here at Buttonhole HQ with a steady stream of new music and DVDs. I for one am grateful for such generosity. When it comes to singles though, I have a hard time filling a page writing about one particular song, so I decided to stockpile 3 single reviews into 1 decent-sized article.
Up for review today we have a single from local Melbourne act Devastations, the new Ween offering and Ricki Lee's Breathe. This might get interesting, so hold onto your pants as I try to be as objective as I can…
 | | "Take You Home" is a single from the CD "Coal" (pictured above) |
Devastations – Take You Home: I've been hearing mixed whisperings down the local-band grapevine for a little while about Melbourne's Devastations. Unfortunately I haven't been able to catch a live show, because I've heard they're none too bad at all. "Take You Home" is straight from Devastations' album "Coal". Upon first listening this song seems to be just another scratchy guitar ditty, but upon subsequent listenings it becomes apparent that there is more to this local 3-piece than meets they eye.
The song it's self has the driving rhythm of acts like Evermore, and has the vocal harmonies to back up it's drive, while all the time keeping a melancholy mood which reminds me of underground acts such as The Dirty Three. The song moves gradually and smoothly through it's vocal introduction and subsequent verses and choruses into a dark, keyboard-laden bridge section smothered with screaming guitars and finally into it's chorus reprise and outro.
If you're a fan of slightly dark and depressing tunes, and like to get into the local stuff, definitely check these guys out. I know I'll be keeping a close eye on them in the future.
 | | "Gabrielle" is a track from this bad boy right here, called "Shinola" |
Ween – Gabrielle: I love Ween. Ever since that annoying "Push the little daisies" track back in the mid 90's. They kept pushing out awesome album after awesome album filled with amazingly catchy and well written songs. Who can forget "Buenos tardes Amigo"? Awesome...
"Gabrielle" is the big single from their new record "Shinola Vol. 1". And if this song is any indication whatsoever, it's going to be another amazing release from a band that has no need to prove themselves. As soon as I pressed the play button on this one I was tapping my feet and singing along. It's a good, basic, solid rock tune, guitars, bass, drums and vocals. Keeping it simple and keeping it real, as always, Ween have outdone themselves with "Gabrielle". The verses are awesomely written, the chorus is impossible to get out of your head, and the bridge is pure simplicity and elegance. I have no doubts we'll be hearing this one all over Triple J, PBS and Triple R before too long. It has the possibility of becoming a fast classic, with it's simple rock grooves and almost disgustingly catchy lyrics and hooks.
Keep your ears tuned for this one. I loved it and I'm sure any fan of Ween will too. As the cover artwork says… "Play it, then resist singing along. We dare you…"
 | | The "Breathe" single is featured on the Ricky Lee CD called "Ricky Lee" and is sung by Ricky Lee |
Ricki Lee – Breathe: Hmmm, as any well-versed, payed-their-dues musician would be, I'm a touch dubious to what this single by Aussie pop-diva wannabe Ricki Lee is going to offer. Let's face it… all of us musos are a touch cynical when it comes to anything that even hints like it's pre-produced and marketed.
Apart from being amazingly easy on the eyes, Ricki Lee is actually a very talented vocalist. I'm finding it a tad unfortunate that she's not managing to find songwriters and producers that can bring out more of that quality.
Breathe is basically a bit of a faux R&B ballad. From first listen it's clear to us that this was written with one thing in mind, being a single. It's not a bad song by any means, it's actually quite catchy, and has a soul and depth that, if inclined (and I'm not) could carry you away to a place where hope lives and dreams come true. For God's sake, listen to me rambling...
This one is pure Nova, Triple M and Fox FM material. As she's a local, I'll give it a red hot go, and I believe in helping out your fellow musicians. This CD single also includes 2 remixes of Ricki Lee's last single, "Sunshine", which are ok if you like dancing it down at the good old 21st Century Dance Club here in Frankghanistan, but essentially are fillers, along with the completely unwarranted "Instrumental" version of "Breathe"… Hmmm, that last one was a complete waste of digital media as the song is nothing without it's vocal performance.
By all means have a listen, and get this song stuck in your head for weeks until you want to take a hammer to your brain. It'll add another notch to Ricki Lee's musical bedpost, and give the listeners in commercial radioland something to sing along to. Not really my thing, but then again, not much is…
In closing I'd like to say this… What happened to the days where Shock released only metal, metal and more metal? It's great to see a huge distributor like Shock getting involved in the local scene, and keeping releases coming from our old favorites. These 3 singles had their moments and I liked each one of them. Ween's "Gabrielle" is a stand out performer though. What? It's ok to be biased a little bit some of the time!
by: Fazz
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