UNDERGROUND SOUND ISSUE 49 - MUSIC REVIEWS

VINYL FLOOR - PENINSULA - Having all the qualities of classic european pop music, this Danish band takes it further with this extended play of 12 songs representative of a concept of sorts. The music throws nods to some of the classic bands of Moody Blues Or Alan Parsons caliber; yet has a very strong neo-indie modern feel. Penisula uses melody lines which flow more than push. The over all feel is very introspective, and somewhat blurry on the edges of Melancholia. Remnants of Floyd are also inherit in the conceptional overtones, as is the original master of all concept albums, Tommy by The Who. Vinyl Floor make a pretty big leap both in substance and songcraft from the first recordings I got from the band over a year ago. With Penisula, the band comes close to having an epic; without words much of the music achieves visualization. There is even a touch of vauderville, which is sorely missing from much "original" music of today. http://www.myspace.com/vinylfloor

BRIAN P MATHENY - Clothed In Eternal Sensibilities - I hesitate to say neo-folk because that term is over used and misused; there is much Brain says on this album though, and it harkens back to the hey day of the story-tellers. Opener "Modern Man" is a modern classic on an album half classics or better. Matheny's whine takes it's whistle from the hillbilly country singers with a coffee house sales pitch, all the while doin' his own groove most of the time, so there is naturally less out of the can. BPM crafts his tunes both in conventional and esoteric ways, bring forth mannerisms which are both confrontational while hinting at true freedom of expression. The album grows upon the listener as repeated plays bring out the nuance that make the work as a whole unique. While the music may not be so heavy it retains a strong sense of psychedelia of the cloaked variety. This record has aggressive undertones, which like I said add more than a bit of dissonace sonically and lyrically, which tends to make the overall feel "heavier". One of my favorite cuts off the album is closer "Ain't My Problem", where basically the message is to ditch the drama. Great ending to a full album of attitude. http://www.myspace.com/brianmethany

TRUE ZEBRA - TRUE ZEBRA - Kevin Strauwen is the force behind True Zebra, which is around the 5th or so release from the Belgian recording artist, who shows extension of craft and overall improvement with each full or ep length output. I've known Kevin for the better part of 20 years now and can pinpoint where he has kept his original minimalist tendencies while becoming ever more proficient in expression. You can hear old school darkwave & industrial at every turn that combine with experiments in structured groove and sound reflections that allow the music to remain uncluttered and still able to build upon initial theme and riff. While that too is definitely old school, as are many of the sounds on this album, Strauwen covers grounds within many genres; there is neo-classical and noise combinations pinning under sometimes only glimpses of melody. Modern machine work holds it all together, while giving set room upon the sound canvas to allow the thin dark lines to intrude upon the brighter corner. It's a lot like walking in the city at night, at once comforting, tensive and scary. Kinda like a nervous breakdown, or a small dose of psychotica. This is another full length recording which seems to go through a type of conglomeration. Not sure if it's intentional, but it does add more recognition to the overall process. http://www.truezebra.com