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 Slay
Me
By Bill Ketzer
Demiricous
One
(Metal Blade)
Sweet! Old-school thrash. Clearly these young men spend many,
many dark hours in the basement drinking Lone Star Ale and
meticulously dissecting every 16th note of Slayer’s Reign
in Blood. In fact, Demiricous unabashedly purloin whole
measures of that watershed classic here, but the effect is
glorious. What the band lack in originality they gain in sincerity.
And really, not many are doing it this way any more. Not even
Slayer, arguably.
Indeed, the clever “Repentagram” apes the structure of Slayer’s
“Angel of Death” in the same way The Simpsons writers
change several notes of a popular song, altering it just enough
to avoid a lawsuit, but not so much that you don’t recognize
the original. A curious thing, but there are other stellar
(and more imaginative) tracks here, notably the streetsweeping
“Cheat the Leader” and the heartlessly abrasive thrasher “Ironsides.”
Old-school sewer rats should be drawn to this like warble
flies to caribou. Not much more to say.
Sky
Smeed
Mill
River (self-released)
Berkshires-by-way-of-Kansas Sky Smeed’s first two CDs were
wonderful, unhurried affairs. Great songwriting, expressive
singing, but much was downtempo, often to the point of being
zen-like. Nice and quiet.
This new one, Mill River, is something else again.
Recorded mostly live in three days at New England folk mecca
Signature Sound Studios, Mill River is a rollicking
bunch of songs, with Smeed stretching emotionally, compositionally,
and hitting every mark full stride. With Mill River,
Sky Smeed goes toe-to-toe with the great Texas singer-songwriters
like Jack Ingram and Robert Earl Keen. He’s that good, and
he’s that distinctive. He’s got the kind of sweet voice that’s
recognizable after a first listen, and he writes unforgettable
songs.
The hard-boogieing “Tonight I Will” peels the paint, with
Smeed yowling about tearing it up on a Friday; “Amarillo Sun”
has a majestic and poetic darkness that’s sniffing around
Patti Smith’s territory; “Nothing to Fear” is a slice of small-town
boy optimism, winding up with a gypsy-like charge and Smeed
singing in long notes “We’ve nothing to fear” over and over
again. “Love Again” is a staggering epic, starting out as
a tepid little woe-is-me lost-love number, building steadily
over five minutes to a furious, violent conclusion, with the
singer’s character shooting his ex-darlin’s new man. His take
on Jimmy Reed’s “Shame, Shame, Shame” leaves the cosmic country
stuff behind and shows that Smeed is perfectly capable of
taking on the baddest roadhouse. Line ’em up.
Smeed’s also got one of the most sure-footed bands in the
region. The rhythm section of Andy Crawford (drums) and Dave
Christopolis (bass) is simply extraordinary in every respect;
Jack Waldheim plays guitar and mandolin with taste and restraint,
coloring the songs while leaving most of the solo work to
the terrific pedal-steel player Pete Adams, who gives the
tracks a distinctive county twang.
Something tells me Smeed’s not long for this local-musician
stuff. Way, way too good for that.
—Paul
Rapp
 Eric
Matthews
Foundation
Sounds (Empyrean)
In the tradition of Paul McCartney, Todd Rundgren, Emitt Rhodes
and a few others, Eric Matthews has recorded his latest album
entirely himself. In keeping with his previous three, it’s
filled with classically appointed pop, a grand sweep of lush,
romantic, and regal songs. Less orchestrated than its predecessors,
this set sticks closer to rock-combo arrangements, with thoughtful
filigree coming in the form of Matthews’ brass and woodwind
playing. With 17 songs clocking in at nearly 70 minutes, it’s
a bit overloaded. The rich subtleties all start to blur into
a cake with too much icing. However, the most glaring problem
with this release is not in the recording, but in Matthews’
pompous liner notes. In an effort to place himself into a
historical tradition by the force of his assertions, he’s
thrown down a gauntlet that undermines his musical efforts,
which make the case for him much more eloquently.
—David
Greenberger
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