Local Reviews: October 1995

My Friend Moses
W.A.Y…R? Records

I must first say that MFM kicked everyone’s ass in the bio department. If you want to get ANY attention from a record company, you should try and catch their eye first. Next, even though I know drummer David Liston, he is still the difference between My Friend Moses being a mediocre metal band and a listenable diverse hard rock band. Even though backed by solid playing from guitarist Phil Gallegos and bassist Josh Cushing, good drums make the songs happen. Of course you can’t polish a turd, the songs are good to start with, and that has something to do with the vocals agreeing with, instead of arguing with the already steady foundation of the material. All of it is above average, and gets better with each listen. A good, hard late night record with a “Fall” feel to it.

Thirsty Alley
American Studies

This is the best band in Utah. Period. They are sick and wrong, but they’re the best band I’ve heard around, musically speaking. There are some things on the record that will no doubt soar over the collective heads of their audience (myself included). There are also some things I could have gone without hearing, like the mass murderer version of “Jambalaya” which starts off like a sultry sort of Sting-meets-Clint Eastwood thing. Like I said, some things will pass by the “not too deep.” Do yourself a favor and listen to this CD front to back. More than twice. There’s something in there besides these guys’ twisted sense of humor. Either that, or thanks to this record I am now clinically insane.

Wish
Painted

Wish is a four piece melodic rock/funk/groove band. They do all the standard guitar breaks into the new ’90s hippie verse thing pretty well. Production on this CD is good, with just a few spotty areas, definitely better than your run of the mill mix. They took their time in the studio, and it pays off. The guitarist has good ideas, and should let loose a little more. Best song on the CD is “Smallman” despite its Alice in Chains/Pearl Jam influence.

The Weed
Retrodust
Sprout Records

Do you think this might be a hippy band? Getting past the numerous marijuana references was not easy. Neither was listening to the first track. But I must say that by the time I got to “Window” I figured that these guys can write a good song, and are having fun with it. So I cut ‘em some slack for being hippies, cause they are pretty damn good at what they are doing, and at least they are doing it. Give them credit. There have been tons of worse bands around. Some still are, and getting paid big cash. If you’re into that groovy free love guitar driven ballad stuff, you’ll dig this band. —Maxx

Read more from the SLUG Archives:
Marky Ramone: October 1995
Soul Coughing