Review: Strange Habits - Strange Habits

Strange Habits – Strange Habits
2009, Strange Habits

Strange Habits is a Detroit-area Rock trio with Funk and Reggae on the brain. Playing the Motown seen for the past seven years and have started to receive some regional and international recognition. Particularly known for an on-stage stunt called “the one man band”, where their drummer plays drums, guitar and bass all at once, Strange Habits strives to put on a great show to complement great music. Eric McGuire (bass, vocals); Eric McCauley (guitar, vocals) and Sheel Doshi (drums, vocals, keys) look not just to entertain you, but to immerse you in their own distinct musical culture. Their self-titled album, released in 2009, has much to offer.

Strange Habits opens with Sunshine Wrecking Ball, a Reggae inspired rocker with a vibrant bass line and an almost mellow-Sublime vibe. Silence Of Stone is a big guitar rocker reminiscent of early Pearl Jam. The highlight of the disc is Butter Noodles, with its grunge feel, pop hooks and vibrant rhymes. Butter Noodles is bound to be a concert favorite and may have real commercial potential. Nature opens with a ska-feel before turning into a churning rock guitar bridge. Strange Habits finds a grungy-punk sound for Bullets In My Pocket, a song about a disturbed individual with a mission of revenge, before closing out with the acoustic Take Over My World, a pleasant and lively listen.

Strange Habits has a very home-grown feel to their music, inspired by Reggae, Grunge, Folk and a bit of Punk. Their self-titled debut album is a pleasant listen that refuses to sit still or fall into one category. Strange Habits is definitely worth spending some time with.

Rating: 3 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Strange Habits at www.myspace.com/strangehabitsmusic. I was unable to find an on-line outlet for the CD Strange Habits, but if you contact the band their MySpace page I’m sure they’ll be happy to hook you up.

Review: James & The Rainbros - Self-Titled EP

James & The Rainbros - James & The Rainbros
2008, James & The Rainbros

James & The Rainbros is a Detroit, Michigan quartet with one of the more unusual sounds I’ve come across. Reggae elements mixed with the sort of free-flowing music we’ve become accustomed to hearing from The Counting Crows and even some hints of Led Zeppelin rear their heads on James & The Rainbros, their debut EP. Founded in 2006, James & The Rainbros have made a steady diet of the Metro Detroit club scene, but seem likely to expand their sphere with this EP.

James & The Rainbros opens with Apple Alphabet, a great bit of eclectic pop with a great hook. This is energetic, danceable Rock N Roll. Vocalist James Linck is enigmatic in sound and thoroughly memorable. His is a voice that isn’t pretty, but is eminently interesting to listen to and thoroughly memorable. Our Own Thing is my favorite track here because it has chutzpah. This is, quite literally, what Led Zeppelin would have sounded like with a Reggae rhythm section. Tiny Island also gets into the mix for top track with some unusual song construction and a Reggae/Roots Rock mix. Lord Got Bored is a bit of musical fluff, of the sort that would be a great concert tune. James & The Rainbros closes out with Chase You, a catchy but mellow reggae tune that will have you reaching for the playback button again.

James & The Rainbros are unique, mixing Reggae, Rock and Americana into something of a new blend. The EP James & The Rainbros is a highly entertaining and fun listen. Don’t be surprised if James & The Rainbros break out of Metro Detroit and start making their name on a larger scale in 2009.

Rating: 4 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about James & The Rainbros at www.myspace.com/jamesandtherainbros. At this time you can download James & The Rainbros from iTunes, or you can purchase a hard copy CD at one of their live shows. Although I think that if you ask nicely in a MySpace message they’ll figure out how to sell you one over the net.

Review: Chris Huff - Death And Texas

Chris Huff - Death And Texas
2008, Help Us Find Food Records

Chris Huff speaks/plays a musical patois that is unique in popular culture. He's played/sung classical piano, jazz bass, folk and rock guitar, a cappella, opera, gospel, bluegrass... you name it; he's done it. And it's all here. Death And Texas is the ultimate "gumbo", where styles blend and fold into one another until the differentiated ingredients give up their respective identities to some new musical identify that has yet to acquire a name.

Listening to the opening track, Hey Now Now, I couldn’t get the vocal similarities between Chris Huff and Peter Gabriel out of my head. Huff could be mistaken for Gabriel on the virtue of his voice. Granted Gabriel has never been known to play Matthew Wilder style pop-reggae, but it could happen. Huff sets us straight on Oceans Never Freeze, taking us on tour of his eclectic musical mind. The song veers from big Max Webster style alt-punk to classic rock opus with some Beach Boys harmonies and New Music dissonance thrown in for good measure. Ghosts Of The Past and Lost In The Mausoleum continue the disintegration into post-modern sound. Each song starts with clear melody and slowly devolves to the point of sounds overlaying one another at random.

My personal favorite here is For The Trees, a dark and dirty blues/reggae hybrid. While For The Trees generally avoids the sonic cavalcade of sounds that become some of its countrymen, the Lo-Fi sound here is a perfect complement to the song itself. Neighborhood (Ain’t It Time) harkens back to the 1960’s as a strong period song. Then We’re Dead is fun little punker where Huff sounds vaguely like Ian Anderson on vocals. The album closes out with The Cause, which may be the most well-written song on the CD.

Chris Huff has some interesting divergences on his way to becoming a good songwriter. He has a strong sense of melody and song construction but is also enamored with musical deconstructionism a bit. Death And Texas is a fun listen; at times confounding, but ultimately worth the trip.

Rating: 3.5 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Chris Huff at http://www.huffmusic.com/, where you can purchase a copy of Death And Texas.