If taken seriously, this release probably will piss you off, but if you understand it as a whole bunch of East Coast rock dudes with different tastes and open minds having fun, it can be a decent listen. Cave In singer and guitar slinger Adam McGrath assembled a few friends for what amounts to a retrospective of rock music over three decades or so. Almost every style is on here, but what you won’t find is the laid back country of the Eagles or the Flying Burrito Brothers. Blues-based riffing fills this album, and a number of tracks refer to other bands or are blatant copies of this group’s heroes. Frequently name checked, the MC5 and the Stooges may as well have had a go at “New Amnesia”, which begins the album and sets the standard for the guitar sound throughout. Soundgarden and Bad Brains are evoked before the album comes to the most surprising moment. “Mountain Jim”, in name alone, recalls the Allman Brothers, while the song doesn’t for the most part (there is an improvised section of the tune that does the songs namesake proud). Less of a surprise, but still startling upon first listen is “Magic Hater” which is ostensibly a note for note knock off of “Willie the Pimp”. The band pulls it off well enough and moves into the last track of the album where self-aggrandizing takes a hold while the boys work out on what they understand to be experimental dub reggae. Unfortunately, it comes off as a bunch of high school third-wavers figuring out how to play slower. Pretty much this disc is a throw-away, unless of course you’re related to one of the guys in the group (in which case, by all means consumerize).
