Review: Davey Spicer & The Creatures Of Habit - Fingers & Curves

Davey Spicer & The Creatures Of Habit - Fingers & Curves
2009, Davey Spicer

Brisbane, Australia's Davey Spicer & The Creatures Of Habit return with their latest EP, Fingers & Curves. The follow-up to 2008's Tides & Caves and Feathers & Nails continues the band's traditional of invoking out-of-the-box sounds and influences.

Fingers & Curves opens with "Agapantha", a healthy dose of infectious acoustic blues/rock. "Agapantha" is likely to get stuck in your noggin, and is a great start. The energy falls way off for "Pink Lemonade", which features an exceedingly mellow arrangement with a lazy vocal line that's more passive than anything. "First & Final Lovesong" may not impress over all, but the arrangement and instrumentation will certainly catch your ear. The Creatures Of Habit use guitar, percussion and bells in quirky mix that's worth a second listen. "Honey Sweet Dreams" is a dark and self-serving goodnight wish that's inherently angry and volatile. The song is a little rough on its transitions, but highly intriguing and shows some of the complexity that dapples Davey Spicer's musical C.V.

Fingers & Curves doesn't measure up to Davey Spicer & The Creatures Of Habit's best work, but it offers some highly intriguing aspects. There's a lot going on in this band, who always sounds like they are on the verge of really putting things together. While that grand musical unification has yet to materialize, the promise of what might be born when it arrives is enough to keep Davey Spicer & The Creatures Of Habit trying.

Rating: 3 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more about Davey Spicer & The Creatures Of Habit at www.myspace.com/daveyspicercreatures. There are no web outlets to purchase Fingers & Curves, if interested, contact Davey Spicer through his MySpace page.

Review: Davey Spicer & The Creatures Of Habit - Feathers & Nails.

Davey Spicer & The Creatures Of Habit - Feathers & Nails
2008, Davey Spicer

Davey Spicer & The Creatures Of Habit are a Brisbane, Queensland (Australia) trio with an eclectic ear. The band’s MySpace page implies that if you want to know about the band’s personalities to read the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV). Personalities aside, Spicer’s trio has a very eclectic and unusual set of influences. Their EP, Feathers & Nails is available if you can find it. Let’s check it out!

Feathers & Nails opens with Good Man, a feel good bit of Americana. It's a classic mix of folk, rock and country with a great melody and a very memorable lyrics. It's a song that will definitely make mix-tape lists and is a highly pleasant listen. Shake It is a wonderfully energetic acoustic tune with a rock and roll attitude. Irresponsibility is a dark acoustic pop tune that sounds a little like something U2 might have written in their War days. The lyric content isn't U2, but the music is definitely in that style. The song is catchy in its dark aspect and will stick with you. You could hear some alt-rock band making it big with Irresponsibility. Liferaft slows things down a bit with a great guitar arrangement and a strong melody. Beautiful starts out as something of a dark homage and turns more and more bizarre as the song goes on. It's a bit disturbing but extremely well conceived and performed.

Davey Spicer & The Creatures Of Habit are an interesting band. I would suggest they are something of an acquired taste, but one worth acquiring. Feathers & Nails is a musician's EP. Those of you out there making music will greatly appreciate the song craft here. Spicer doesn't have a perfect voice, but its perfect for the material he's writing, and Feathers & Nails is a worthwhile experience. Check it out.

Rating: 3.5 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Davey Spicer & The Creatures Of Habit at www.myspace.com/daveyspicercreatures. You’ll have to contact the band through their MySpace page for availability of Feather & Nails.

Review: Davey Spicer & The Creatures of Habit - Tides & Caves

Davey Spicer & The Creatures Of Habit - Tides & Caves
2008, Davey Spicer

Davey Spicer & The Creatures Of Habit are a Brisbane, Queensland (Australia) trio with an eclectic ear. The band’s MySpace page implies that if you want to know about the band’s personalities to read the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV). Personalities aside, Spicer’s trio has a very eclectic and unusual set of influences. Their EP, Tides & Caves is available if you can find it. Let’s check it out!

Bang Bang Baby Goodbye opens Tides & Caves; a frenetically dangerous get lost song if ever I've heard one. This song really moves and would sound incredible done by a blues-rock outfit with a big guitar sound. As it is it's en extremely entertaining listen you won't be able to get out of your head. Daydream was a little lost on me. It's a sweet song with a pleasant melody but gets a little too caught up in repetition at times. Human Obscene is an extremely well-written song with real movement and a great acoustic hook. The arrangement here suggests the craven attitude that the title suggests. Soft & Out Of Focus is perhaps a little too aptly named. It's more ambient than anything, relying on Spicer's plaintive vocal and bland acoustic guitar accompaniment. Credentials completely turns the momentum around however, in what may be the best song Spicer has written between Tides & Caves and his other EP, Feathers And Nails.

Tides & Caves is a little bit uneven, with three songs really hitting the mark and two others that seem to get a little lost on their way home. What is abundantly clear is that Spicer is a very talented songwriter (even the best ones miss once in a while). Spicer plays the role of enigmatic front man in the same vein as Ian Anderson, displaying (or at least suggesting) a darker aspect of his own personality over the course of unusual and very memorable songs. This EP is definitely worth a listen.

Rating: 3 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Davey Spicer & The Creatures Of Habit at www.myspace.com/daveyspicercreatures. You’ll have to contact the band through their MySpace page for availability of Tides & Caves..