THE MUSHROOM RIVER BAND (Simsalabim) CD/LP
The new album contains eleven tracks and in opposite to the forerunner, "Simsalabim" is much straighter and harder. No big experiments, this is heavy straight forward Rock'n'Roll Metal without any compromises. But under this surface, you can hear some real fine technical details (breaks, arrangements etc.), that are giving this songs enough own identity. And Spice vocals are still one of the trademarks of the TMRB. In some tracks like the opener "Simsalabim" he sounds more aggressive than on any other recording before. "My Vote Is Blank" knows to appeal with funky elements, but like on the first album there's no real boring track on this album. Everything is played on the same energetic level and that leads me to my only point of critic. Due to the fact that mostly all tracks are very similiar to each other it can be a little bit boring, while listening to the whole album. But that's just my opinion. All in all, "Simsalabim" is a fine album, heavy, passionate and dirty, lots of fine hooks, all wrapped up in a powerful natural sounding production. It's not spectacular and got nothing in common with Doom, but still entertaining enough for an evening alone or with enough beer. And the CD contains one of the funniest hidden tracks, that I've ever heard. The street date of "Simsalabim" is at March 25th an it's available through Meteor City in the USA and Century Media in Europe. For actual infos check out band's homepage.
(KK)