Sound Bites
By Daily Bruin Staff
April 3, 2001 9:00 p.m.
 Earthsuit “Kaleidoscope
Superior”
Earthsuit “Kaleidoscope Superior” Sparrow
Records Hmm. A cover featuring metallic limbs detached
from silver mannequin bodies, heads smiling and decapitated, set
against a matrix of steel bars looks kind of interesting. Quotes on
the CD packaging suggesting, “…a wild ride. I followed the
rabbit hole all the way to the end,” add to its appeal. After
30 seconds into the first song, one question becomes apparent:
“What was this guy thinking?!” Obviously nothing. After
looking at the packaging to see who might have said such a falsity,
relief is found in the fact that the words are those of one of the
members of dcTalk. Now that makes sense. Earthsuit, on its debut
release “Kaleidoscope Superior,” sounds like a bad acid
trip being had simultaneously by Fred Durst and Michael W. Smith.
Where Christian rock and Christian soul have succeeded,
Earthsuit’s Christian “rap-rock” fails miserably,
as it most likely will in the charts. Clichés, distorted
guitar riffs, Milli-Vanilli beats and banal lyrics are the dominant
motifs which abound “Kaleidoscope Superior.” During its
“rap-rock” interludes, it sounds much like
counterparts-in-Christ, P.O.D., but far less appealing. During
its softer moments, like on the track “Said the Sun to the
Shine,” the group is somewhat reminiscent of the
“Reading Rainbow” soundtrack. Throughout, Earthsuit
feebly veils its predominately Evangelical lyrics with a Zack De La
Rocha-style delivery. More oft than not, it stifles its
message for the sake of commercialism. Ultimately, though,
Earthsuit fails vis-a-vis its too-prominent influences. At times
the group snips off Bob Marley, as on the snappy opening track
“One Time,” and at others directly imitates Rage
Against the Machine, as on the lenient
“Schizophreniac.” In the end, Earthsuit softs out under
the weight of these flimsy inspirations, due mostly to a blatant
disregard for musical integrity. As Bill Clinton might say about Al
Gore vs. George W., “trust me, they suck!”
Cyrus McNally Rating: 1
Dave Hollister “Chicago ’85″¦ the
Movie” DreamWorks
If art mirrors reality, then Dave Hollister has got one
seriously confusing social life. He’s just trying to take
care of his woman, who, even though they fight a lot, loves him so
much she’d pay his bail (“Keep on Lovin'”),
but there are all these problems. First off, her ex is giving him a
hard time (“Yo Baby’s Daddy”). Then he’s
got these old family skeletons barging out of his closet
(“Doin’ Wrong”). He’s having trouble
keeping things running smoothly in the relationship department
(“Please Don’t Take My Girl Away”). A lot of
trouble, actually (“Take Care of Home”). And to make it
worse, he runs into this skanky lady who he used to run around
with, but he wants to stay respectable (“One Woman
Man”). Well, whatever’s percolating in Dave’s
homelife, he made himself a pretty nice little album. The former
Blackstreet singer’s sweet, unblemished tenor locks in with
slick, jazzy arrangements to make “Chicago ’85″ a
well-polished R&B product ““ not too revolutionary, but
still worth listening to. As fresh as a cool breath of air, the 14
tracks go down nice and easy, sometimes in spite of their odd
lyrics. Take “One Woman Man,” for example. Sure, he
talks about how he’s got to go home to take care of his baby,
the love of his life. But if he loves her so much, why does he
spend so long boasting about his string of one-night stands and how
his ex is looking “good as hell?” It would seem like if
he was so hyper-devoted to his new girl he wouldn’t be
puffing up like a peacock for old news. But in the grand scheme of
the album, these little contradictions don’t add up to much.
Most listeners will be lulled in by Dave’s sweet pipes and
forget what he’s saying anyway, so if he paints himself into
a lyrical corner at times, it doesn’t matter much. As soon as
he gets into that “mmmmm” moan that he works into just
about every song, they won’t even care, they’ll be
headed off to that great old place, sweet home Chicago.
Brent Hopkins Rating: 7
The Dropkick Murphys “Sing Loud, Sing
Proud!” Hellcat Records
Check the shamrock and Lucky Charms jokes at the door ““
while the Dropkick Murphys are the hardest rocking Irish-influenced
band out there, they’re not just House of Pain with a punkish
twist. These seven Bostonians may fly the flag of the Emerald Isle
high, but they’re a whole lot more than a novelty act looking
to cash in on a little ethnic pride. Sure, there are other groups
out there who’ve thrown Irish elements into their sound with
success, but few do it as well as the Dropkicks do on “Sing
Loud, Sing Proud!,” the band’s third full-length
release. With alternative music becoming increasingly formulaic and
boring, it’s nice to hear something just a tad different like
this. Al Barr holds nothing back with his vocal-cord-snapping
singing, while James Lynch and Marc Orrell crank out some truly
hellacious guitar tones, melding punky fury with a folk lilt. Words
don’t really do it justice ““ but dialing your stereo up
all the way sure does. To further expand their traditional sound,
the original Dropkick members have signed on some help from Ryan
Foltz on the mandolin, tin whistle and dulcimer, and Spicy McHaggis
(let’s assume it’s a pseudonym, or his parents must
really hate him) on the bagpipes. Foltz is a particularly key
addition, pepping up tunes like “Which Side Are You
On?” and “The Rocky Road to Dublin” with his
subtle touch. And to give him credit, McHaggis really can blow the
hell out of those pipes, driving the sporty “For
Boston” and the ribald “The Spicy McHaggis Jig”
on sheer lung power. While the band still leans a little too
heavily on its “Hey, we’re working guys who drink and
fight a lot!” theme, it is branching out nicely. If the
Dropkick Murphys keep rolling down the path they’re on, there
should be quite a few more good records yet to come.
Brent Hopkins Rating: 8
