20th Century Monologue

Review by Darren Gawle

I've heard people ask what exactly is the "Vancouver Sound." If there was one, it's hard to describe, and maybe it's more of a vibe than a sound. 54-40 used to have it, and so did Lava Hay and the Grapes of Wrath. It's also still around in the music of Daytona and Mystery Machine.

Hazel Motes have it, too, in their celtic folk-rock music, but they're unfortunately not doing anything remarkable with it -- it's hard to appreciate 20th Century Monologue because it sounds like so many other local folk-rock bands. This continues right down to the awkward vocal phrasing which would suggest that the lyrics were written completely apart from the music and were added in a "let's see what's in the lyric book" mix-n-match session later on. (Hazel Motes also have the pretense to highlight odd letters in the lyric sheet to the song "Ragnarok" to spell out "Patriarchy Christian Madness.")

This is not so much a Vancouver band as it is a Vancouver-band-by-numbers, and that's not good enough.

Artist Contact Info: 2433 Venables St., Vancouver, B.C., Canada, V5K 2P9