Album Reviews
Various Artists: Stupiditties
‘Stupiditties’ is an annual compilation of 18 “un-metal” bands from the country, some of which played at the Stupiditties concert in Bombay last month to promote the album. Conceived and promoted by ennui.BOMB, the album has a cleverly packaged inlay with some cool artwork along with detailed information about all the bands featured on the compilation.
So, what is “un-metal” about this compilation? Well, it’s a mixed bag of alternative rock, punk, grunge (if you consider it a sub-genre), bluesy acoustic jam, southern rock and even electronica. A key ingredient in any good compilation is the flow of the album, regardless of the genre and/or theme and ‘Stupiditties’ manages to get that right.
On to the music then. Skinny Alley from Kolkata are particularly enchanting in their classic alternative throw-back, singer Jayashree Singh’s Grace-Slick-meets-Hope-Sandoval vocals brim with confidence and dexterity. Alternative acts Descant, LBG and Cyanide get stuck in your mind with repeated listens and sing-along choruses, while Aftertaste, Split and Cassini’s Division suffer from a bad case of the ’90s hangover. Human Abstract recalls Rage Against The Machine in sound and spirit in their anti-reservation declaration “Re Serve” — a commendable thought but maybe they should try to find an anti-RATM sound.
So, what is “un-metal” about this compilation?
A welcome change is “Girl not Guitar” by Half Step Down with their groovy southern rock, and Delhi band Hypnosis strut their classic rock and blues roots sung with throaty vocals on “Revival”. Rainvan from Bombay, by sheer coincidence or inspiration, have the same opening lines as Van Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl”. Discounting that, their song “Hey Where Do We Go” is well constructed. “Underwater” by Something Relevant is a chilled-out blues jam, wish more bands would keep it simple. The same could be said for Tripwire — “Frozen Portrait” is punk rock at its verse-chorus-verse best, done in about three minutes with no pretensions. ForceField’s “She Lied To Me” is that joke song you do with friends that is amusing for a while. The Superfuzz do their punchy indie rock (see Arctic Monkeys and Franz Ferdinand) that’s popular among the kids these days. Bringing electronica to the mix is Medusa with “Beep Off”, a song that reminded me of The Prodigy’s collaboration with Tom Morello for the Spawn OST. Digitalkids Cyborgmom wouldn’t sound out of place in The Dust Brothers’ soundtrack for Fight Club. Finally, there is “Fishy Thoughts” by Grossing Decency, a song which is arresting in its Pixies madcap eccentricity.
All that makes ‘Stupiditties’ a fair introduction to the “un-metal” rock bands of the country. Sure, there are the smirks, the bands that don’t go beyond their ring of influences, but there are enough goodies among the smirks to skip on to and keep it worthwhile.
How does one order the album?
Heyy JugularBean,
To get a copy of the Stupidtties CD, visit this:
http://www.musicyogi.com/asp/idpndDetails.asp?albId=ALB6079
or call Rishu - 9819288798 (Bombay).
:)
can’t wait to lay my hands on it!