Cats and Balls,
Shallow DodgemsI'll apologise for being a hugely cynical bastard, but the first thing that stuck out when I read the Shallow Dodgems press release was that they come from Chalfont St Giles, about as upper class a-sounding name as you can get. Still, let's not tarnish these guys with any kind of brush as the music should actually do the talking.
The four-piece are influenced by The Clash, Green Day, Mr Bungle and The B52s, and there is certainly an element of the last two on 'Cats and Balls'. The opening 'ClitDorg' is an acquired taste, with a strange vocal over a foot-tappingly catchy melody. But then for the oddness and originality which scores them high marks, there are some plain awful moments. 'Wunda-Bra' has possibly the worst name ever, but is also just too bizarre for its own good, 'Mother In Law' takes far too long to get going and 'Mary' is more jazz/funk with ska elements than anything else. But when bands like Adequate 7 have this style nailed, everything else seems like a pale imitation.
Shallow Dodgems score high on the originality scale, but the vocals grate through me like nails on a blackboard. There is promise here as they look like yet intend to forge their own identity in the ska-punk world, so thumbs up for that, but this release doesn't do it for me.
www.shallowdodgems.cwc.net
Paul
