self-titled

Review by P. Freako

The Pasties self- titled debut CD has been a long time in the making. Make no mistake, this is a straight ahead rock album -- you'll probably hear it at your next party. Al Doyle's powerful voice emanates throughout the CD and stands out with the likes of Jon Bon Jovi and Axl Rose. After listening to the album, though, something just kept eating at me. It seemed like the Pasties wanted to break out of the hard rock parameters, but never quite achieved it. Though at times the music is grungier than most slick rock albums, it still never manages to leave the nest.

Starting out with the surfy rock number "Deadbeat Surf," the album progresses through different influences. Poppier, radio friendly tunes such as "A&E" and "Frisky Little Wood Nymph" are candidates for the airwaves, while "'EH' Lament" carries somewhat of a bluesy feel to it, à la early ZZ Top. With the exception of the last song, "Kill Yer Mama," which is a muddier punkier song, the Pasties just tease us with these musical influences and choose to limit themselves to their safe rock confines. This will undoubtedly please some people and frustrate others. I'm in the latter group. But hey, we still get the bonus track at the end of the CD, a kind of drunk, Scottish Art Bergmann doing a mock tribute to Neil Diamond. Huh?

This is a good rock album. Nothing less, nothing more.

[Note: the Pasties are having their CD release party on June 15, 1996, at the Gate. That's downtown Vancouver, on Granville.]

Hemisphere Records Inc., 908 West 21st Avenue, Vancouver, B.C., V5Z 1Z1, Canada