The 1997 debut album from this Berkeley (or is it Oakland?) band has been quite hard to get hold of over here until recently so I'm listening to and reviewing this in hindsight of hearing the most recent effort "Jagged Thoughts". This is totally different to that but more along the lines of Lookout debut "Rogue's March". This is slightly less focused but just as aggressive and powerful with its songs of love, hate and loss, if not more so in parts. *That* voice (you know what I'm talking about) is very much in evidence throughout and the lyrics are as heartfelt and poignant as ever. eg "passion overcomes reason again. drunk clarity amid such desperation" from "Crashing Down". The most effective song to me though is the least complex lyrically - "Sloppy Fucking Drunk" with its repeated refrain of "come on! come on! come on! come on!" building and building with ever increasing urgency and desperation. Search this one out.

--Chris (4th Feb 2002)