e no mata

Review by Darren Kerr

This is fast, discombobulated music from the same herd as Engine Kid, Far and the immortal Drive Like Jehu. These four songs are filled with angst, meaning that the vocalist screams a lot, and the guitar player must have a sore wrist from all the chord change mania going on here. With this type of music you have to have a very proficient drummer to be taken seriously; luckily, Herder's drummer is well up to the task. The galloping bass in "Welcome the Vice Grips" stands out among the din but herein lies the problem: they try too hard to maintain the out of control jazz core melee and the songs suffer for it. Every song has the band going like ninety and driving like you know, but there isn't much variety. I'm looking forward to their next output, though, because all they need is some vision and scope to add to their technical ability. Here's hoping they find it.

Artist Contact Info: #5, 3217 Heather St., Vancouver, B.C., Canada, V5Z 3K4