Big Sky

Review by Kevin Templeton

This seven-song effort from Vancouver hard rockers Diesel Candy starts off with "Desire," a quasi-funk-ish little number that reminds me of something Sons of Freedom would've recorded a few years ago. "Palate Raunch" gets a tad raunchier as ex-frontwoman Miss Benny (now turning heads with Waiting for God) sleazes up her vocal delivery over a bed of driving guitars. "Wonder" follows soon thereafter with some neat, free-flowing radio rock that includes some tasteful electric violin courtesy of the Spirit Merchants' Jesse Zubot.

But the real gem on Big Sky has to be "Virginia," a tune that builds from its acoustic-based opening verse to include a classic hard rock chorus (despite some clichéd femme fatale vocal parts). Producer Larry Anschell gives Big Sky its much-needed backbone with a solid, bottom-ended production. Overall, if you can see through the band name and hasty packaging, this is a promising, if unspectacular, debut offering.

Artist Contact Info: Diesel Core Management, c/o Backstage Collector, 432 West Pender Street, Vancouver, B.C., Canada, V6B 1T5, (604) 331-0675