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If
you have ever watched 'Buffy The Vampire Slayer' dancing away in
the Bronze (the club in Buffy's town of Sunnydale for all those
not in the know) and wondered whom the band is playing in the background,
chances are it may have been Four Star Mary, who portrayed Oz's
band, Dingoes Ate My Baby, through three series of the hit teen
programme.
'Welcome
Home' is the second full-length album from Four Star Mary, with
the first 'Thrown to the Wolves' gaining good reviews but doing
little to worry the chart compilers outside the US. However, thanks
to appearances in the aforementioned 'Buffy' as well as 'Party of
Five', expect to hear a lot more of Four Star Mary and their music
in the near future.
Lead
singer Tad Looney has a deep, gruff voice, reminiscent of Chris
Cornell of Soundgarden after several decades of smoking 40-a-day.
The overall sound is Seattle grunge mixed with the more optimistic
melodies of Four Star Mary's home state, California, and it really
does work.
Dark
lyrics are overlaid with the fairly heavy guitar and drums of Zu
and Chris Sobchack. Even those of us without a jot of rhythm in
our bodies cannot help nodding heads and tapping feet.
Some
of the songs, including 'Hold Me' and the opening track 'All I See',
will sound recognisable mainly because they are so similar to the
majority of soundtracks that back popular American teenage programmes.
You
can just see the scene now; attractive, 18-year-old male, with a
chin chiselled out of rock, stands outside the suburban house of
the stunningly beautiful, blonde cheerleader that he has been in
love with for all of two minutes as an anthem for an angst-ridden
generation fades up.
However,
'Fall', 'Welcome Home' and the closing track 'Stars Come Down' demand
much more from the listener and show Four Star Mary's impressive
range, from "mosh-pit" rock to acoustic, cigarette lighter-waving
ballads.
In
a time when British teenagers are being weaned on a diet of saccharine
sweet, manufactured TV pop it is refreshing to hear the alternative
from the other side of the pond. Four Star Mary dare to show emotion
through their song, even if it hints that they have already been
through more than anyone would wish on their darkest enemy in a
whole lifetime.
The
band has just finished a tour of the UK, but expect them to be back.
This album is sure to build up a following almost as sizeable as
it is for them at home, and it will be well deserved.
Ben's
mark out of 10: 7
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