After a month of prosaic military tasks and activities, I can sincerely write that I’m holding up rather well. Inevitably, the first day was difficult; strangely enough, it was also the day on which we probably did the least. Mental weariness is, in my eternally humble opinion, just as pernickety to deal with as physical fatigue is. Being somewhat uncertain of just how much of this article I should dedicate to my own biographical blether, I’ll include the rudiments, and get to the unsigned artists as soon as possible.
Swearing myself to the Fatherland-Cyprus-on Friday the 1st of August was somewhat daunting, but it is just part of the package. In the preceding 30 days or so, I have fired one of
these. Whilst it may or may not be apparent that I am not one to be best pleased at touting a gun, the experience is all that counts. Conscription is, perhaps widely, perceived as a bitterly cruel robbery of a young person’s life, and I shall not disagree; however, during my time in the army, I fully intend to soak up the experience. I might not enjoy the experience; it might even be futile in itself; but at least I shall experience a dissimilar way of life so as to make a decision. As far as freedom goes, my freedom is to be found in my writing -- do excuse any self-indulgence.
Turning to last month’s article, I would like to point out that the cumulative augmentation of website hits for the bands was over 10,000, yet again emphasising the sustainability, marketability, and credibility of Ultimate-Guitar.com. However, I’d like to think that we could do more for Ultimate-Guitar and the artists featured in this monthly article. Ultimate-Guitar has matured into an entity almost unrecognisable from its inceptive days. It no longer exists as a community solely for guitarists; however, the next stage of growth for this website, in this writer’s opinion depends largely on its ability to attract a new type of reader. For this reason, when you read an article, a review or a story on UG, why not send a link to your friends, family, or acquaintances, so that they, too, can have the opportunity to discover Ultimate-Guitar in a new light.
Outvile, perhaps the most bizarre artist that we shall encounter together, is a progressive rock band from the Ukraine. Owning all of System Of A Down’s albums, I sometimes felt that Daron Malakian’s vocal delivery was somewhat forced. There is nothing forced about
Vict’s vocal delivery. His larynx, quite simply, delivers on every occasion; he is a charismatic frontman, a personality. His shrieks and wails are not as refined as Matt Bellamy’s of Muse, but he brings the air of a neuron not only to
Outvile, but also to the article. He is rather electrically excitable. Songs such as
Dreams, They, and
Stream affirm that
Outvile might just certain neurological defects, insofar as they are raving mad, bordering on the thin line between insanity and ingenuity-in a bemusing manner, fittingly for the band, it remains ambiguous as to which side of the line
Outvile rests.
Outvile provides a group of songs available for free download via the band’s myspace page; for those of you wondering, I recommend the flowingly hydraulic riff of Rush.
· Rating: 8
Some of the bands I encounter really do choose their names in paradoxical circumstances: meet
In Deepest Sleep. In my eternally humble opinion, I’d rather not sleep through the music of band members: Angelica, Pashell and Elysa. Alas, I have to admit that there is somewhat of a nocturnal feeling to
In Deepest Sleep. It’s almost as if songs such as
Memory Exercise are willing the listener to delve into abstract pathways, finite pathways, but always leading to others. The next pathway to follow is certainly
Apology To Nadia, a quark of nimble nature, which explores a defining feature of
In Deepest Sleep’s ‘sound’. There is always something melodic yet imposing meandering through the rhythm guitars, and
Memory Exercise continues in this vein of poignancy. For this reason,
In Deepest Sleep should be a forget-me-not of this article.
· Rating: 7
Ponies. Ponies have always provided me with a great deal of amusement, Shetland Ponies, and Connemara Ponies in particular. They’re fabulous creatures really. Of course, should you wish for some other ponies to entertain yourself with, there is always
Stoned Ponies. On a personal note, I personally recommend the
Ponies’ masterpiece:
The Mayor’s Song. You shall be hard pressed to find a band more applicable for the intensive treatment section of a hospital. There is so much more to the
Ponies than their simplistic insistence that their genre is of alternative rock. In
Flan, the
Stoned Ponies have a vocalist with a voice as cathartically raspy as the best of them, and what a force it is. There is a very rock ‘n’ roll element to the
Stoned Ponies’ sound; however, the
Ponies’ astonishing attribute is that, through songs as artfully gritty and whoosh soaked as
Confession Suppressed, the rock ‘n’ roll factor comes naturally-perhaps a result of the
Ponies’ insouciant rebellion-and nobody can manufacture that.
· Rating: 7.5
Al Baker is a socialist activist, and he presumably won’t altogether apprehensive about my publicising of that fact-it’s rather well known. Having listened to
Al’s punk-tinged folksy songs for a good couple of years now, it hit me as a little peculiar that I haven’t featured his music in one of the preceding articles-although, he is an artist of the month every month. Considering my position at present, listening to
Al Baker is the most sizeable act of rebellion that I’m prone to committing for the next many months. “
Hypocrisy!” comes the cry from his adversaries, those you pay attention to detail, their eyes catching that
Al Baker is listed on the Murdoch-owned corporate myspace. Perhaps
Al just wished to dedicate a song to Mr. Murdoch: just listen to
Hello Mr. Murdoch.
With scheduled released early next,
Al Baker looks set to juggle university life in Manchester with busking up and down the United Kingdom. With years of touring that belie his youthfulness,
Al has toured as far as the United States, and been reasonably successful in the process. Steeped in left-wing ethos,
Al Baker recalls that his “
Granddad Was An Anarchist”, and with the promise that one day he will be sure to tell his kids, long may someone with principles continue. Whether or not you have an anarcho-Granddad, there is something about Al Baker that transcends disagreement on political leanings.
· Rating: 8.5
Should you have an artist to recommend for future editions of this article, you can contact me at:
sam.agini@ultimate-guitar.com. My myspace page is
www.myspace.com/samrgini. Thank you for reading my ramblings.
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