Peterwalkee (2016)
Dial 'M' For... is another record sent to me for review by the folks at Peterwalkee records. They're not a band I was familiar with, but as I read the accompanying one sheet, I was intrigued by the fact that they name dropped bands like Rocket From The Crypt, Dun Narcotic Sound System and The B-52's. That, plus the fact that the album art clearly depicts a horn section got my hopes up that this could be something great.
All the pieces are there. I'll even go so far to say the band itself is pretty great. They've got blistering energy as they stomp their way through each song. A solid barrage of guitar attack with some really excellent horn section accents. Maybe not in the same ballpark as RFTC necessarily, but I could see how this sort of thing might appeal to similar fans. Unfortunately all of of this good will is immediately destroyed when the vocals kick in.
I'm not sure I've heard a band so good that has such awful singers. They have the male/female interplay going on, but it's kind of a disaster. Singer 1A, Dan sounds like he has a perpetual sore throat and is in dire need of some Sucrets. I like some raspy vocals, but this is raspy done in the absolute wrong way. On the flipside, Singer 1B Jaz is a shouting nightmare. She is just screaming like a maniac most of the time and it's awful.
The strangest part is when Jaz calms down and actually sings a song like she does on the slow, soul influence "Community," she's incredibly effective. She is so much more suited to that style than she is to the other ninety percent of the album where she and Dan are yelling at you to "Dance til your pants are off." It's a shame as the vocals kind of spoil would could have been a pretty fun album.
Mallwalkers - Dial M For ...:
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