fair to mediocre

You know, I really wanted to like these guys. For one reason, they're local...they've been plugging away for almost as long as I can remember. I saw them for the first and only time years ago at the Galaxy Club opening for Prong. At that time, I recall them being a lot more Deftones-ish than they apparently are now, and my mental review of them was that they weren't bad as a band - they had potential, but there was something about the singer that bothered me. So I blew them off.

Now, they're getting a big push as Serj Tankian - who I adore on a number of different levels - has "discovered" and signed them to his label. (It should be noted, though, that while I think the world of Serj, his taste in music doesn't quite match his talent as an artist/activist. System of a Down had some bunch called Bad Acid Trip - another Serjical Strike band - opening their Dallas show with The Mars Volta. Though they were unique and seemed to have some degree of promise, Bad Acid Trip were otherwise mostly just annoying.)

I made the mistake of listening to clips of a couple of the new Fair to Midland songs on their MySpace page, thought they sounded interesting, and bought the album. I gave the CD two complete listens and couldn't stomach any more of it. It was utterly precise, utterly slick, utterly without passion or originality...a homogenized, generic version of System of a Down. Like Incubus or something. I couldn't dump that fucking thing off on some other unsuspecting schmuck on Lala.com fast enough...

So, much like a good thing breeds a plethora of pale imitations and cheap knock-offs (Nirvana...Silverchair and Creed; Rage Against the Machine...Limp Bizkit and that's enough said about that), System of a Down appears to have wrought its own wave of SOAD-lite bands. A textbook example of which, sadly, comes from Dallas. And even more inexplicably is being aided and abetted by a System principal. Blech.

In the meantime, my favorite band on the planet have put out a thoroughly kick-ass new record. I am a happy camper. For reasons I still don't understand, these guys have yet to get even the teensiest amount of promotion in the U.S. (to the point where I had to buy their second record from Beggars UK and the new one from, I'm ashamed to admit, Amazon UK, because neither have even been released in the states); they're barely known outside Europe...where I gather they're pretty big. Anyway, please visit their site and check out a few of the videos from their new album, Puzzle. If I had a dream band, it would sound like BC. God, I love 'em...