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NYC Smoke - For The Posers  (CD)

(Smoke Recordings - www.soundarte.com - NYCS2859)
[Genres: indie rock, rock]

NYC Smoke, also known as Howie Statland, has had a large history as a musician, taking part in outfits like Thin Lizard Dawn and Low Flame.   This is his first release as NYC Smoke, and it features a great selection of catchy, powerful songs.  There are so many influences on this album, making for a diverse, intricate collection of pieces.  Statland's raspy voice accompanies the electric guitar, bass, and drums perfectly, making for entirely successful results.   As well, the lyrics are impeccably written, using regular themes, but mastering them with his own style of creative wordplay.  Some of the pieces here, like "Balance" and "The Letter," sound like they'd fit perfectly on a Nirvana album, while others take cues from bands like Iron Maiden, Blonde Redhead (briefly), and even The The.  "The Fallout" is a truly inspired piece that succeeds in being infinitely catchy, and is pulled off with amazing attitude and raw emotion.    The best piece on this album, however, is "The Letter," an amazing song that features great melody, great mood, and great power.  When Statland bellows out "Are we really star-crossed lovers?/Star fuckers?" you can't help but feel overwhelmed by the intense strength of the song.  Despite all these good moments, however, a few of the songs also fall flat.  For example, "Halo Man" and "Pick And Choose" don't really bring much to this album, giving off a tired, redundant feeling.  They are not necessarily poor pieces, but they don't add anything to the collection of songs.  However, the good outnumbers the bad here, and, all in all, this album is a success.

85%

(Available from http://www.statland.net/howie/sound/buy.htm for 10 dollars.  By the way, this was originally on sale for 17 dollars.   Earlier, I was complaining about how insanely high that was, and - alas - Howie actually reduced it to 10.  Whether this was a result of my comments, or just Howie's own decision, I'll never know.  But I like to assume the former.  It makes me feel important.)

March 2002