Steve Curtsinger and Jerry McBroom both left hard rock outfit Bride to do this groove/grunge project. They came up with a low budget mix of Stone Temple Pilots and Nirvana-influenced grunge, with some generic hardcore and groove rock thrown in. It's not pretty. And it might be hard to pull in fans of the genre, who are used to all the rich tones and perfectly angst-ridden vocals of the dozens of acts of this type that ruled the '90s. Christian groove-heads into Disciple and Nailed might be into this, if they're open to demo-quality sonics and songwriting. Keep the volume down and do something else while you're listening, and you'll never know the difference.
The main flaw is the offkey and amateurish vocals. It's understandable for a first effort, but not listenable. Contrary to most older people's ears, there is some skill required to sing grunge; it's not just yelling. Some of the experimental stuff almost works, like the whispers or deep-voice spoken word stuff, but otherwise you'll be wincing.
It's not all bad, though; songs like "Bob" and "Smile" capture the sloppy slacker sludge of early grunge with surprising authenticity, even if they have to rip off Bleach-era Nirvana to do so. Too bad Zoo Babies couldn't figure out how to get the same blistering production Cobain and Co. got for under $1000. That, and a trippier vocal style to hide the lack of vocal ability, might have given them a chance.
Other coverage for this album
HM Magazine #79Reviewed by Doug Van PeltThis project, which has apparently been on the back-burner for awhile, is the self-produced work of Steve Curtsinger and Jerry McBroom (both formerly of Bride). Definitely a departure from Bride, this 10-song disc has a nice aggressive feel to its decidedly hard alternative sound. Rapid fire distorted guitars sometimes slam the brakes to float into some dreamy vocals. While the overall production…
