Reviews - Week 67

hundred handed

on parade ep

self-released

Virginia Wolfe said, "When a book lacks suggestive power, however hard it hits the surface of the mind it cannot penetrate within" and that’s pretty much how I feel about this 5 song EP; no matter how many times I listen to it, it will always feel like background music to me.

Maybe it’s just not too my taste, maybe it’s too loud or to male for me, which is a shame because it’s not bad music. They can play their instruments and the sound of the lead vocalist’s voice doesn’t make me want to throw something at the radio, like so many singers on the radio today make me want to do. (I usually content myself with violently switching station.) This EP even has a couple of nice guitar bits and sometimes I’d find myself nodding along to the music almost in spite of myself, but if didn’t make me feel anything, it didn’t tell me stories or paint pictures in my head, it was just . . . noise. And I think music should be more than that.

The Chalets

Nightrock EP

Setanta Records

I can’t stop listening to this CD – it’s fantastic. It’s fast, it’s catchy and it’s great fun to sing along to.

The scenes of drunken debauchery in Nightrocker remind me of college, while the sweet and innocent Kiss Chasing takes me all the way back to primary school. Love Punch has my favourite sing along moment in the girls’ chorus ("I know you love me but you’re fucking crazy") and the EP ends with the slow and sexy David Boring with lots of plinkedy-plonkedy xylophone.

The main thing about The Chalets music is that it’s fun and energetic, they really give it their all, and their enthusiasm is infectious. They use the male and female vocals to great effect, especially on Theme from Chalets. (Not on the EP, but available to download from their website, for free!)

It’s a great EP and the sleeve design is also very cool!

Grainne Lynch
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