(this review of phidgets "drift" appeared in the april 22-28 edition of the pitch weekly)
Living in the Midwest gives artists a unique perspective on the American music scene. Though it takes a while for cool to drift in, once the streams converge a new pool of inspiration is created. On its sophomore release, Warrensburg, MO's Phidget dives into the pool created by Seattle grunge, Southern California vocal stylings and hip-hop freestyle to come up with the 15-track hybrid "Drift".
The most fresh and interesting track on the album is "Thisnk Again," a dynamic mixture of distorted punk vocals and grinding bass lines injected with a funky, freestyle angst-twinged diatribe calling to mind a harder-edged Korn. "Soon" is a standout becaus of its sparse arrangement and seamless changes. Beginning with Jay Linhsard's voice and guitar harmonies build to a cresendo. "Soon we'll get to the point", he sings repeatedly before Tammy Caton's grinding bass and Leland Anderson's manic drum-work come into play. The song then drops effortlessly back down into a trance-like state.
Phidget wears its angst on its sleeve and sounds best when playing in a full-blown rage. When toning it down and going for the subdues power ballad, the trio often leaves the listener waing for a thunderclap that never comes.
While the album displays the band's ability to shift from full-on rockers to sweet, soaring ballads a la Foo Fighters, the sepuencing of the songs from hard-soft-hard makes listening to the album straight through a sort of schizophrenic experience.
However, the band has begun to move beyond the Nirvana impressions on its first album and has successfully incorperated other influences into its style. Continuing to do so will give the band the unique voice it needs to break out of an already crowded field.
-Jeffrey Ramsey