Artist: Negative Reaction
Title: Frequencies From Montauk
Type: Album
Label: Psychedoomelic

Righteo, set your bullshit anecdote filters to maximum folks as I’m about to pontificate! During the collapse of the Swansong label, and yes, I remember some of the fanzine chat (that’s like a webzine, but printed on paper, and sold for money, that weird coin & paper stuff that was exchanged before the age of social networks) about the name that Led Zeppelin had given their label and the inevitable collapse. Okay, I don’t remember when critics derided its inception, but I do remember the backlash from its collapse. If any don’t know the legend of the “swan’s song” it seems that with its dying breath a swan releases the most beautiful cry, just as it expires. In a like vein, if any band adopts the name, “Negative Reaction”, they are either extremely confident as to their abilities, or ready to take the consequences.

As it is, this is an album that just never sat right with me. I let the editor know I was willing to give the band a decent crack of the whip based on impressions of opening track ‘Day After Yesterday’, but the real problem is the vocals. I really hate to say this, especially as I haven’t been able to carry a tune in a bucket since my balls dropped circa 1982 (check out some recordings of the Halle Orchestra with the Manchester Grammar School Choir in the early 80’s if you have nothing better to do), but the singer of Negative Reaction truly sounds like the friend of the band/chemical supplier allowed to scream as he is bringing the gear. Sabbath always say in interview Ozzy was hired as he had his own amp, so it’s not that impossible an idea. To me, track after track of potentially superlative doom was spoiled. ‘Day After Yesterday’ had an excellent riff, as did ‘Dopamine’, and by the time the title track, with the synth laden intro burnt in, I just kept wishing the band had found somebody who knew how to scream and sing.

I hate giving a negative review. Let’s face it; a critic is inevitable somebody who doesn’t have the ability to deliver the goods themselves, and thus gets some satisfaction from sniping from the sidelines, but honestly, to me, this band, has failed to do itself justice. What I want to say is in the realms of stoner, the guitar is nasty and fuzzy; the bass is dirty and blasting; the drums, pounding. What lets the whole production down, in my untalented ears, is the singer. Music wise, the guitar’s dirty riffs just made me want to get pissed and stomp around a mosh pit; the trouble was that the vocals made me want to sober up in time for a decent tea and sleep to be refreshed for an early start at the factory. This is not what I want from my stoner metal, and I can only say the vocals from “Space Capsule 1” want me to get to my early bed extra early and extra refreshed. Sorry gents, my brief is to be the honest fan! The only time the vocals don’t jar is in the spoken parts like the intro of ‘A Bit Numb’ when there’s a menace positively reminiscent of John Malkovich with a switchblade. I love the sustain driven stoner guitars, and the equally laid back drums and guitar riff offer the same, it’s just the indie shrieks of the vocalist that put me off.

http://www.negativereaction.info

Spenny Bullen

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