myspace music monday: Sleeping In the Black Light

Can you believe it's only been two weeks since the last myspace music monday? It feels like a lifetime! So I know you're sitting on the edge of your seat, eagerly anticipating this article. That's why I won't waste any more of your time with fancy-shmancy introductions. Just read.

Sleeping In the Black Light

Genres: Alternative/Progressive/Experimental
Location: Manchester, United Kingdom
Band Members: Gav - Vox, Guitar, Piano, Sax / Matt Webb - Lead Guitar, Percussion, B Vox / Junior - Bass, B Vox / Jay - Drums, B Vox
Influences: Too many to name. Highlights include: Sigur Ros, Radiohead, The Walkmen, and Led Zepplin.
Sounds Like: "Going for a lovely picnic, sitting in the grass, staring at the sky, and eating a sandwich, only to find that you have forgotten to pack a drink. You finish the sandwich regardless and try to enjoy yourself. Nevertheless you are constantly plagued by the feeling that things could be a lot better."

The Short of It: The best way to describe the band is by stealing their above statement. You try to enjoy yourself, but are constantly plagued by the feeling that things could be a lot better.

Songs:
"Mexican Standoff" - To be 100% truthful, the reason that I am featuring this band today has little to do with my admiration of their talent. The band went splitsville over a year ago but are still being promoted by Net Label, The Gack Factory, who contacted me about doing a write-up of the band. In their letter was a line that grabbed my attention and forced me to listen. Comparing their "mini-album" to Muse, Radiohead, and System of a Down, they wrote that "Mexican Standoff" is the "pinnacle of the band's recorded work." If that's the case, then the best thing to happen to Manchester, England in some time was this band's dissolution. "Mexican Standoff" sounds like a high school band's attempt at Audioslave, with amateurish vocals and a somewhat bluesy, but mostly ballsy, guitar line. If this is the pinnacle, then the rest of this articles really ain't worth writing.



"Shadows in the Headlights" - The production on this song is the best of any of their recorded work, as it sounds legitimate as opposed to the other songs' garage-style recordings. Gav's vocals aren't half bad here, and his falsetto sounds natural and unforced. Hearing the two guitar parts play off of each other is very nice. Also, I'm really struck by the band's ability to tone things down. The other songs sound like a mess of guitars, drums, and vocals, but this one is well-balanced and easy to swallow.

"Been Killing Wasps" - To be honest, this is really the best that the band at it's best. That's not including Gav, of course, who can't sing a lick. He spends most of the song going back and forth between awkward yelling and a castrati-like falsetto. The instrumentation, however, is quite solid and makes the song worth hearing.t

"Diplomatic Malice" - Comically bad vocals really ruin anything else that this song may have going on for it, which isn't a whole lot. Gav's voice is reduced to a nerdy growl thoughout the song's length. The fact that this is the final version of the song and not some bedroom demo is the most shocking revelation I've dealt with in some time. The song's instrumentation picks up a bit towards the end (once the vocals have gone away), but it's not enough to redeem the song. Not by a long shot.

"Crows on Telephone Wires" - Not a terrible song by any means. The 6/8 time signature used by the band makes for an interesting listen. Guitar-driven, the only thing one could really complain about are Gav's vocals which are downright pitiful. It sounds like he recorded the song after a night of heavy drinking, which can never bode well.

The Long of It: You know what the sad thing about this is? The band probably could've made a few decent songs if it weren't for their lead singer. The guys sure are familiar with their instruments, and aside from the low fidelity, their recordings aren't all that terrible. But there's that Gav fellow who just flat out doesn't sound good. Hopefully the rest of the band has moved on to other projects. As for the singer, well, I hope he has come to terms with his lack of talent and tried to occupy his time with other activities - like water polo! Who doesn't love water polo?

Links:
Sleeping in the Black Light's myspace Page
Tracks for Download
The Gack Factory's Website