Organelle, Various Artists
Not only is Organelle the Medieval Latin term for a specialized part of a cell, or to be more exact, the structure that floats in cytoplasm delivering vital necessities to our cells, to maintain their existence, (Pete @ Punktastic - music journo, talented musician, top bloke and biological genius) it is also the name for this rather strange, mixed up compilation CD, fresh off the press from the best bands to come roaring out of Cincinnati / Northern Kentucky. Not a clue what’s going on? Me neither. A read into this compilations press release reveals that 3 labels from the area mentioned, namely Save Your Servant, State Bird and Tiberius Records all decided to chip together, throw their best bands on to a CD, name it after some weird part of the body and then ship it all over the world…. That’s good enough for me.
Giving it a good listen is the harder part as opposed to understanding it. A lot of bands on this CD don’t really tickle me fancy or get my blood cells running with adrenalin the way I would have liked. The 14 track CD is mainly a host of art/rock bands, typical of the way most U.K rock bands fade out of the limelight, i.e. Radiohead and Feeder. That sort of slow tempo, calming, unexplainable sound, which you are listening to out of loyalty to the band, rather than pleasure. I’m pointing the finger at Theraphosa who open this CD with their track “Leviathan” and Thistle with their song “The Widest Coat Tails.” The only band that are credible on this record are the blinding The Defrost Star with their punk driven “This Town” full of energy, and a stack load more conviction than the pale, drawn out bands conglomerated around them.
The CD is enough to keep me informed of what happening with the musical set up in Cincinnati, and although the idea of a mixed label compilation CD is a clever and inspiring one, the bands on this CD (minus The Defrost Star – who I hope to be doing some more research on) haven’t really made the grade at all. However, if a compilation CD is created to generate interest on the artists featured on it, and I’ve fallen for one of these bands, then surely it’s a job well done by the creators of Organelle.
Pete
www.tiberius.com
www.saveyourservant.com
www.commonwealthaudio.com
