Mantra
Self-titled" CDEP
Self-released
Genres: rock
Jan 19 - 25 2004 |
Kesh
Patel and Alex Routledge make up the rock act that is Mantra,
and this, their new two-song demo, contains the fruits of their
ambitious efforts. Once you get over the cover's goofy photo,
you'll have a chance to spend seven minutes of your life ondering why
you can't find anything better to do. "Shake Me Down" is a two-minute mess featuring
unintentionally goofy vocals sung over a zippy bass/drum background and some
ridiculously cacophonic piano mayhem. It kind of sounds like a
joke, except there's a bit too much actual melody present to think they were
making it sound shitty to be funny.
"Forget to Breathe," meanwhile, is the epic slow
piano-and-vocal song. Remember Peter Cetera's "Glory
of Love"? From the Karate Kid 2 soundtrack?
Well, it's kind of like that, except more minimal and less
infectious. It isn't really that bad a tune, though, and it at
least shows some promise with relation to Mantra's songwriting
talent. It's clear, in a melodic sense, that they are quite
capable.
Overall, this disc is pretty uninteresting. The band will
need to make some serious adjustments before they tackle a
full-length, as what we have here doesn't seem to quite know what it's
trying to sound like.
69%
Matt Shimmer
[Vitals: 2 tracks, distributed by the
band, released 2003] |
