| CD REVIEW 16 |
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Band : 16 Rejoice, oh yee fans of Southern Californian seminal Sludge Rock act 16, for your favourite band which had been put to rest in 2003 is back in their original Drop Out line-up comprising singer Chris Jerue, guitarist Bobby Ferry, bassist Tony Baumeister, and drummer Jason Corley!!! For 16, things had started back in 1992, when Jerue, Ferry and Corley founded the band as a means to vent their frustrations with life’s adversities. That same year, the band released the double 7-inch Doorprize, which led the band to be contracted by famed artist Pushead for material to be issued through his label. The first 7-inch (Crystal,issued that same first year on the label’s singles Fan Club series) gave Pushead the taste for more, which arrived in 1993 with the full-length Curves That Kick (distributed in the US ànd Japan). Plenty of local gigs and more recordings followed, plus the addition of Baumeister to the line-up (which enpowered the live shows), and the band followed up their debut full-length by the release of the Japan-only CD Preoccupied and a bunch of 7-inch singles. 1994 saw the band embark on their first Japan tour, and record the critically acclaimed Drop Out album. But then the band severed ties with Pushead, and the album only surfaced in 1996 on the Pessimiser imprint. Blaze Of Incompetence (recorded with Fudge Tunnel’s Alex Newport producing)wasrecordedthatsameyear and released the year after. Followed more shows and more recordings (released on a variety of 7-inch and 10-inch singles and splits), but it would be until 2002’s Zoloft Smile (issued on At A Loss Recordings) before the band would produce a full-length again. Meanwhile the line-up had apparently undergone some changes, with more to come. After more local shows, a UK tour followed, as well as two US tours and a second trip to Japan. Having released 5 full-length albums (that’s also counting the Japan-only Preoccupied) and a total of 15 singles and splits, the band was laid to rest in 2003. Ferry and Corley continued with other projects (Ferry, for instance, resurfacing during 2005 in the San Diego based and Christy Radonich fronted Love Motor), as did Baumeister (while Jerue quit the music world altogether)…but nothing seemed to give ‘em the satisfaction 16 had. In August 2007 some random e-mails and telephone conversations had caused the four to get together again, and only a couple of months later the guys were contacted by Relapse…soon after which they joined the roster. Besides the new album, Relapse also negociated the re-issue of previous albums by the band (Zoloft Smile to appear simultaneously, as well as a compilation album I didn’t quite get the title of), which means I can look forward to start a collection of this bands’s material…because I have to admit that until now I hadn’t even héard of the guys! Which is a shame on me, because 16 are dàrned good in their style. I don’t know what it is what makes the attraction of Sludge Rock acts. Perhaps it’s the Black Sabbath-ish riffs that do it, maybe it’s because it’s simply góód music with great hooks and groovy melodies!?…ànd because the material usually needs some time to sink in (multiple and repeated listening sessions necessary for one to recognize one track from the other offhand). If, like me before I got acquainted with Bridges To Burn, you’ve never heard any 16 material…and you àre into Sludge Rock or Stoner, you nééd to go check out the stuff (two songs off Drop Out, one off Zoloft Smile, and three off the new album) they’ve posted at myspace.com/16. Warning: you may get hooked! Relief: more material, including all the band’s previous studio albums (except for that Japanese one, I gather) ànd an additional The Early Years compilation, is still forthcoming! 9!/100 Tony. |