 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
Esther La Montagne - Reviewing ExtraPlay.com
artists, their sounds, singles and album releases.
artists, their sounds, singles and album releases.
One Bad Otter - Otter Than You
LUCIDFORGE.COM
Written by Sebastian Frye
Thursday, 01 June 2006
I feel a slight affection and pain for One Bad Otter. Not only is there
mascot a cute river animal (affection) but one of the members,
electric guitar player and singer Joe Gumienny, has left to band to
pursue other musical interests (pain). On the album Gumienny plays
phenomenally well and his inclusion in the band is essential to
complete the Otter sound, mind you, I haven't heard them play
without Gumienny. All that said, the album Otter Than You is a
upbeat barroom brawl of a record. You can feel the peanut shells
under your feet, the brewing of beer from the tap, and those yellow
and blue stage lights casting onto the Otters as they jam whole
heartedly.
The band hails from New Jersey and have been playing since 1996.
This record was released in 2004 and so offers a much more mature
sound than what they must have started out sounding like. The
band plays nine songs with vigor and dexterity, allowing each song
to maintain it's own qualities while still sounding like that band you
might have heard in the pub as you stared in through the glass
windows. That is their pitfall however, that they are just another
band you may hear on a Friday night over a pint.
Opening the album is the song "Knew You When", a funky
Barenaked Ladies-style rocker reflecting on a love and a chance
you may have, or may have never had. I'm a sucker for drummers
and Otter's drummer Jim Rilko is fine example of a versatile and
punchy musician. He holds his beat steady as Gumienny pulls out
an opening riff I can only describe as: happy. Once the chorus
comes in with "Before you built that wall" the whole band rings in and
the 'happy' riff turns into a dirty full sounding rising wall of sound. On
other songs such as "Keep On Walking" the vocals take on a whole
new character; they are gravelly and penetrating, a nice contrast to
"Knew You When"'s softer tone s. The song is formulaic foot
stomper including a high flying guitar solo and a constant acoustic
rhythm.
On songs such as "Kid Sinister" and "Adam's Eve" the band ponders
more worldly questions and subjects. "Kid Sinister" empowers the
powerless with "How can we save the world if this is all we got?" sung
in a potent and optimistic way. The other lyrics to the song hold
obvious references to the government of the United States without
being overtly critical.
"Adam's Eve" paints a ravaging portrait of Eve-of-the-garden as a
metal goth seductress, and although this is the image I gather in my
mind the lyrics are quite honest: "I just woke up in the garden/ Have
no idea how it started/ But when that serpent slithered in/ The fallen
angles began to sing/ She joined the chorus and took the lead/
Pulled the apple from the tree/ She's Adam's Eve". The song is not a
meditation on religion or on the conflict of good and evil, it's a
depiction of a the first women on earth, coming from an alternative
crowd.
The final most enjoyable and humorous song is a tribute to the punk
legends of the past in "The A#@Hole Song". The lead singer sings
in a cockney imitation as the band plays in an upbeat tempo and just
let's loose in every aspect; even near the end of the song a belch
echoes out and a beer cap is thrown to the ground as one member
screams "Gawd Saeve The Qween!".
One Bad Otter is pretty bad, in the good way. They could jump into
any bar venue and raise the roof and get the people stomping their
feet and clapping their hands. Their musicianship is unified and
thorough, nothing sounds particularly weak on the record. Although
it's not something I would listen to regularly, these good 'ole' boys
can sure raise a little hell. It would be of more interest to catch them
live than sit and enjoy their peanut-shell, bear soaked music in your
own living room, however. Still, Otter aren't a bad find (no...oh
nevermind).
Track Listing
1 Knew You When
2 Canterbury Love Song
3 Believe
4 Island Man
5 Keep On Walking
6 Now and Then
7 Kid Sinister
8 Adam's Eve
9 The A#@Hole Song
LUCIDFORGE.COM
Written by Sebastian Frye
Thursday, 01 June 2006
I feel a slight affection and pain for One Bad Otter. Not only is there
mascot a cute river animal (affection) but one of the members,
electric guitar player and singer Joe Gumienny, has left to band to
pursue other musical interests (pain). On the album Gumienny plays
phenomenally well and his inclusion in the band is essential to
complete the Otter sound, mind you, I haven't heard them play
without Gumienny. All that said, the album Otter Than You is a
upbeat barroom brawl of a record. You can feel the peanut shells
under your feet, the brewing of beer from the tap, and those yellow
and blue stage lights casting onto the Otters as they jam whole
heartedly.
The band hails from New Jersey and have been playing since 1996.
This record was released in 2004 and so offers a much more mature
sound than what they must have started out sounding like. The
band plays nine songs with vigor and dexterity, allowing each song
to maintain it's own qualities while still sounding like that band you
might have heard in the pub as you stared in through the glass
windows. That is their pitfall however, that they are just another
band you may hear on a Friday night over a pint.
Opening the album is the song "Knew You When", a funky
Barenaked Ladies-style rocker reflecting on a love and a chance
you may have, or may have never had. I'm a sucker for drummers
and Otter's drummer Jim Rilko is fine example of a versatile and
punchy musician. He holds his beat steady as Gumienny pulls out
an opening riff I can only describe as: happy. Once the chorus
comes in with "Before you built that wall" the whole band rings in and
the 'happy' riff turns into a dirty full sounding rising wall of sound. On
other songs such as "Keep On Walking" the vocals take on a whole
new character; they are gravelly and penetrating, a nice contrast to
"Knew You When"'s softer tone s. The song is formulaic foot
stomper including a high flying guitar solo and a constant acoustic
rhythm.
On songs such as "Kid Sinister" and "Adam's Eve" the band ponders
more worldly questions and subjects. "Kid Sinister" empowers the
powerless with "How can we save the world if this is all we got?" sung
in a potent and optimistic way. The other lyrics to the song hold
obvious references to the government of the United States without
being overtly critical.
"Adam's Eve" paints a ravaging portrait of Eve-of-the-garden as a
metal goth seductress, and although this is the image I gather in my
mind the lyrics are quite honest: "I just woke up in the garden/ Have
no idea how it started/ But when that serpent slithered in/ The fallen
angles began to sing/ She joined the chorus and took the lead/
Pulled the apple from the tree/ She's Adam's Eve". The song is not a
meditation on religion or on the conflict of good and evil, it's a
depiction of a the first women on earth, coming from an alternative
crowd.
The final most enjoyable and humorous song is a tribute to the punk
legends of the past in "The A#@Hole Song". The lead singer sings
in a cockney imitation as the band plays in an upbeat tempo and just
let's loose in every aspect; even near the end of the song a belch
echoes out and a beer cap is thrown to the ground as one member
screams "Gawd Saeve The Qween!".
One Bad Otter is pretty bad, in the good way. They could jump into
any bar venue and raise the roof and get the people stomping their
feet and clapping their hands. Their musicianship is unified and
thorough, nothing sounds particularly weak on the record. Although
it's not something I would listen to regularly, these good 'ole' boys
can sure raise a little hell. It would be of more interest to catch them
live than sit and enjoy their peanut-shell, bear soaked music in your
own living room, however. Still, Otter aren't a bad find (no...oh
nevermind).
Track Listing
1 Knew You When
2 Canterbury Love Song
3 Believe
4 Island Man
5 Keep On Walking
6 Now and Then
7 Kid Sinister
8 Adam's Eve
9 The A#@Hole Song
* our music *
One Bad Otter
Otter Than You...
Release date: 2004
Click on song title to listen
Release date: 2004
Click on song title to listen
Knew You When
Canterbury Love Song
Now and Then
Believe
Keep On Walking
Even more songs available on the CD
To Purchase One Bad - Otter Than You...
Canterbury Love Song
Now and Then
Believe
Keep On Walking
Even more songs available on the CD
To Purchase One Bad - Otter Than You...
Thanks to Mark for his creative guitar playing. His addition to the
song, lifted it to another level. Please visit his website, you will not
be disappointed. Great job Mark !!!! www.marksganga.com
song, lifted it to another level. Please visit his website, you will not
be disappointed. Great job Mark !!!! www.marksganga.com
EP Review: One Bad Otter Funny that, One Bad Otter are
so bad it hurts. Consisting of four members all from New
Jersey US, Jim Rilko,; Drum;, Rob Duffy; bass/backing vocals,
Joe Gumienny; rhythm guitar/lead vocals, Tim Zusin; lead
vocals/acoustic 12 string guitar are certainly not fish eating
mammals. Thank God! All aside they write fantastic songs,
reveling in real rock and roll, from the sweet melody of
‘Canterbury Love Song’ to the moody, catchy sound of ‘Keep
On Walking’.
so bad it hurts. Consisting of four members all from New
Jersey US, Jim Rilko,; Drum;, Rob Duffy; bass/backing vocals,
Joe Gumienny; rhythm guitar/lead vocals, Tim Zusin; lead
vocals/acoustic 12 string guitar are certainly not fish eating
mammals. Thank God! All aside they write fantastic songs,
reveling in real rock and roll, from the sweet melody of
‘Canterbury Love Song’ to the moody, catchy sound of ‘Keep
On Walking’.
ALBUM REVIEWS
Check out the new song "Inside of Me"with guitarist
Magic Red
Magic Red