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The Music Makers : Filthy Divine
Viva : vocals - lyrics Nick : guitars Scotty : Percussion
bass tracks - Cody McKinney and Nathin Cole
violin - Amy Tobin
The CD : This is Filthy Divine ( 13 songs ) 2004
The Songs :
1 : The World is Mine 3:17
2 : High \ Low 4:28
3 : Watch You 3:57
4 : Destabilize 3:50
5 : Ambrosia 4:27
6 : Lack of Friends 3:16
7 : Cemetery Road 5:36 |
8 : The Maze 3:45
9 : Control 3:35
10 : In the Corner 4:56
11 : Liquid Sin 3:22
12 : Sunset 3:09
13 : America 5:00 |
The CD starts out with the easy going songs "The World is Mine"
followed by "High \ Low" which are both well done even as one
may like a more so heavy groove. With "Watch You" Nick kicks in the
guitar sound that well underscores the appeal of their pop hard rock
approach along with the vocal energy that Viva brings to each song.
"Destabilize" is a different type of song for the band with layered
vocals and chant like style which holds true to form through out the
song. The song "Ambrosia" is for the most part an acoustic lolly bye
tune with some violin gently woven in to perhaps put you to sleep after a glass of milk and cookies. Then they bring forth their earlier fan favorite "Lack of Friends" which is a playful good time bar tune.
They shift gears with "Cemetary Road"
which is their darker side song as it begins well with violin and
breaks
into a faster pace where vocals, guitar, violin and percussion all
drive the song forward along the winding path scribed out by the
lyrics. Which is one of their best live songs along with "The Maze" and
the last song "America". The guitar work
and vocals within "The Maze" is the signature sound that sparked the early
formation
of the bands appeal along with "Lack of Friends" and "America". The
song "America" may have been best titled "In America" to seperate the
song from any political mix that goes with the individual word America.
The recordings of "In control" and "Liquid Sin" are such that the band
most likely would of liked to of had additional studio time. In general
the guitar work seems rather
crisp and steady while sometimes the percussion may seem somewhat in
the background along with occasional vocal fluxuations. A fine
mix of
songs well worth listening to with much for the ears and mind to dig
into. A hard driven rock band with a mix of pop, punk, funk and metal
elements all enhanced by the lyrics and vocal landscape of Viva Long.
Many of the songs would sound good on the moderate to heavy rock radio
stations along with college radio.
The CD design is dominated by the color red and yet balanced by the
black and
gold on the front cover with a variation of the fire department emblem.
At first glance one would be led to think that the title of the CD is
"THIS
IS" while inside it is clearly stated to be "This is Filthy Divine". If
one is superstitious about photos on CD's, the back photo could have a
forecasting story line woven into the image. That is, the top of
Scotty's head is gone faded into the white
background and he has a hand gesture towards Viva as she is looking
away with nick off to the side in black with sunglasses looking
downward. One could draw up a number of storyline forecasts from the
photo - yet, the photo and title layout may be different on later
printings.
One should well note that since this recording Marcus Hall has become their full time bass player and can be seen playing their live shows.
Impressions
: The best songs are the "The Maze", "Cemetery Road", "Sunset" and
"America" in the general sense of the recording and their live
performance. A charismatic group with upfront female vocals.
Rating : Four hard rocks up to rattle the edges of pop culture.
Filthy Divine is based in Minnesota
www.filthydivine.com and at www.isound.com