SKYWAVE
DON'T SAY SLOW

To be frank, I don't know jack squat about production values, although obviously I have an opinion when music is too smooth or too rough or whatever. "Don't Say Slow" is going to send me back to school. The production on this CD makes no sense to me -- the vocals sound like they were recorded on the moon, while the recording equipment was still on earth. If this had been true for one song, I would've thought, Hey! Gimmick (maybe even "Hey! Cheesy gimmick," depending on how well it was done). However, the entire album's vocals are drowned out by the instruments, which also sound as though they've been recorded through cheesecloth. Maybe Skywave is reaching for a John Cage / Philip Glass-type aesthetic, and if that's so, they've probably done well, depending on their original thesis. If they were trying to copy Joy Division, the vocals still needed to be more distinct. Given the snatches of lyrics that I can hear, though, I'd say that wasn't their intention. "Seen It All" is the best track by far, because I can hear the most, and it's fairly catchy -- screwed over by love, he's seen it all, la la la. If it weren't my job, though, I wouldn't bother listening after the first five minutes. Hang the name in the back of your head and wait for their next release.

By Jenn Sikes

Splendid Ezine 10-23-01

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