A
handy
dandy split twofer CD with four songs each from a couple of kick-ass
cookin’
bands. Grover
Aquarian Weekly
Shore World column
(Review By Chris Barry)
Then we got a healthy pre-release bite of the Matawan-based Grover
Kent's 3 song sampler from their forthcoming "Me, Myself, and Your
Mother"
CD, playing their edgy to Surfy Punk Pop the way we like it: Grover
Kent
is: Jay, Bass/Vocals, Rich guitar & vocals and Steve on Drums, and
the band Once labeled and promoted themselves as "Dork Rock".
But don't be fooled: this 3 piece Grover Kent is not just another
ballsy
garage band inhabited by allegedly
grown-up guys who definitely don't fit any lurid “musician's
lifestyle”;
This may dawn on you, as you jump feet first into 'Suddenly Summer', an
anthemic, Ramoneish, Sheena-era jammer about "The Summer we never met".
Imagine Surfpunk Wally Cleaver w/a dab of Rollins and Joey Ramone, as
this
fist-waving buzz-out gets your attention, both feet jumping and head
bopping
from first crunch to last. A little about face, as a snappy
build-upfanfare
intros the surfpop heart of "Caroline", the singer begs and kicks ass
at
the same time, in a trademarked, simply hooked toon with tightly
ominous
ax overtones and rumbles, making you think they're gonna go heaaavvy
all
out psycho at any moment, but instead continue riffing away with
American
Pop-Cool.
Grover Kent live is best represented by the Weezer meets Punk
Del Shannon tinge of "Suede". Easily the best produced mix of the
bunch, the song's drumming clockworks and Conroy's most
assertive/empassioned
vocals 'Can't get out of bed/The pain has shot me dead' gives the whole
thing a nice rhythmic snap that reminds you these guys surely have
their
own freak flag to fly, and its yours too.
From NOW WAVE zine:
"The Best Bands You've Never Heard in Your Life" 4-way
split 7"
(More East Records)
(REVIEW BY MARK HUGHSON)
A four-way split usually translates to “quadruple
disaster.”
Frequently, four bands that haven’t the skill, know-how, or balls to
put
a single out on
their own team up with friends and make it a
collaborative
effort. A snazzy cover or contrived theme are typically the standard
for
this type of
release, the philosophy being that aesthetics will
cover
up the facts behind the needle-drop: the bands suck! Come to think of
it,
though, there is an
efficiency that one must look positively upon. Instead
of 4 crappy slices of wax, two pairs of bands join together to
mercifully
put out only one
release. And so it goes…
Except in this case, of course. The artwork on this
release
is horrid! The theme on this release is not only poorly manufactured,
but
also stolen from
Frank Zappa. All the customary facets of a four-way
split
are disregarded on this release, including the exhibition of good music.
Mazeffect put forth “Flip Your Wig”, an extremely
decent
if not accurate retake on Husker Du’s underground hit. I suppose I
should
take into
account that this song is a cover, but I like the sound
of this band. More bands should pay homage to Husker Du. Bands that are
open-minded
enough to be rough and edgy, yet still maintain that
essential skill hidden inside an overused phrase (yes, I’m talking
about
“POP SENSIBILITY”)
are few and far between. Mazeffect, I commend you.
The Ergs, once again, do not disappoint. Here we
have
“Saturday Nite-Crap-O-Rama”, and despite the amusing title, it seems to
be one of the few
and proud Ergs songs that isn’t tongue-in-cheek. A
straightforward
pop punk song full of sonically-sound hooks with the pining lyrics of
Mikey
Erg
bleeding through.
On the flipside, Grover
Kent
produce “Caroline”, another song that grabs my attention due to its
“hard
pop” sound. It’s a great tune, and for some
reason it makes me think of
the fuzz rock gods of the 90’s, Fluf, and their label-mates,
Overwhelming
Colorfast. Now c’mon! When’s the last time
OC was referenced in a review?
These guys know where it’s at. Just about every possible hyped-up and
watered-down
genre of the last dozen years
is thrown out the window in
favor of just plain good, solid, honest music. Oh, and catchy too.
Rats Eyes Retired (At 21) cover Black Flag’s “Nervous Breakdown”.
So, here we have a novelty within a novelty: a four-way split that actually works!
--Mark Hughson
Various Artists
The Best Bands You’ve Never Heard in Your Life
More East Records
It should really come as no surprise that The Ergs! are as good as
they are. Any band with easy access to a record store as amazing as New
Jersey’s Vintage Vinyl really has no choice but to have their
influences
straight. I mean, if you haven’t seen this fucking store before, you
just
wouldn’t believe it. Upon first stepping foot inside, I almost shat my
pants. Thankfully, my Depends were in full effect, and I managed to
escape
un-shat upon, cradling in my arms records that one wouldn’t think any
store
in the galaxy would carry, this here platter included.
On this totally ghettoized compilation (the cover is a folded piece of orange paper, the insert a folded piece of green paper. It’s pretty fucking hot.), four of New Jersey’s finest (I assume) get together and see who rocks the hardest. And The Ergs! totally win. "Saturday Night-Crap-O-Rama" may well be the best Ergs! song yet, and that’s saying quite a lot. The liner notes insinuate that the song itself is a bit of a Dinosaur Jr. rip off. My knowledge of said band pretty much stops after the first two songs on their "Where You Been?" album, so I’ll just have to take their word for it. Not that I give a fuck. This song, like every great Ergs! song before it, has been stuck in my head for days, and I’m having trouble foreseeing a time when that won’t be the case. Loaded with the most infectious chorus I may have ever heard (a simple "Go on!" repeated a few times), this song is packed with more emotion and heartache than, uh, you could shake a stick at. Every Ergs! track has rocked, but none quite like this. Mikey Erg has turned the whiney squeal into an art form, while Jeff Erg now stands alone as the guitar player whose ability and style I covet most.
Perhaps the sheer brilliance of the not so aptly titled Ergs! track spoiled the rest of this record for me. Mazeffect turn in a pretty rocking cover of Husker Du’s "Flip Your Wig," which reminds me, at times, of Plow United sans screaming.
Grover Kent have a slight later Bob Mould feel on their pleasantly catchy "Caroline," while Rats Eyes Retired (at 21) contribute "Nervous Breakdown," though I doubt anybody really notices.
The Ergs make this shit happen. Combining the best elements of ‘90s pop-punk with the most rocking elements of ‘80s hardcore and indie rock, these guys are the fucking shit, plain and simple. If you don’t end up owning this for The Ergs! song alone, you are probably an asshole.
Um, go to The Ergs! website for info. on where to obtain a copy.
FROM AMP MAGAZINE:
GROVER KENT
“Me Myself, & Your Mother” CD
Fresh pop punk out of New Jersey. The songs here are fresh and fun,
not full of angst and attitude like most of today’s bands. These guys
are
genuinely cool and write good songs, so go out & support them! (LD)
(www.yourfavoriteband.com)
From The Aquarian’s March 10, 2004 Edition
SHOREworld by Chris Barry
ME, MYSELF AND A FEW BASIC OBESSIONS…
At long last, we behold the long-awaited
maiden release of Grover Kent’s Me, Myself And Your Mother, a 12-song
disc
that covers band topics of the day like Girls, Food Girls and Summer…
Formerly known as Wisenheimer, Grover Kent
is Rich Conroy, guitar and lead vocals, Jason O., bass and vocals and
Jay
Slappy on drums. The band was formed originally in 1999 and while
we won’t confuse you with typical band genealogy of who left, joined up
or ran screaming in fear, suffice it to say that the Grover Kent of
today
is true to Rich Conroy’s vision of giving the punk and the dork in us a
voice that both can relate to.
As on the slam-band intro to the surfpunked
“Pussycat”, a guitar grinding message of yearning to what else but
pussycat.
The it’s the Ramones-ish “Girl Trouble”, where Rich sings he’s been
“burned
more times than bread inna toaster,” and that the “trouble with girls
is
they don’t like me.” Couple the punked up riffs with smart, snappy
lyrics
and you have the basic Grover sound and attitude.
The dork comes clean via the surf/punky
crunch on the no-regrets look-back at love called “Suede, and there’s
more
Ramones riffing (They seem to have had a profound influence on these
boys)
on the surf-funky “Irritating Girl”, about “…the most annoying person I
have ever known,” and it works. Hey we all know one, and you
should
run out and play this song for her as soon as you can. Go on, you
know you want to…
And behold, a genuine Grover Kent anthem
in the fast-paced, hummable pop thumper of “Suddenly, Summer”, the
front
man’s look at what might have been but probably never was.
And if The Ramones were suburban dorks
in jeans or khaki, then “Hockey and Food” would be their anthem.
Also dug on the ominous drum/bass build-up to “Caroline”, the band’s
surf
pop ode of devotion that’s as non-syrupy and from the gut as it gets.
We also found a giggle in The Ramones
rhythm
and rationale of “I Sold My Brain To Science (Cuz I Couldn’t Pay My
Rent)”
and wondered who would get more for their medulla, Rich Conroy or
Johnny
Ramone? It remains to be seen, although my money will always be on Dee
Dee.
Overall, these would-be paragons of
surf/garage/dorkrock
have put out a nice little record and you can own it today. Me,
Myself
& Your Mother is available from Vintage Vinyl, Curmudgeon, Let It
Rock,
Interpunk.com, and directly from their website as well, for $5 plus $2
shipping and handling. For the CD or more info, surf onto
www.yourfavoriteband.com
.
Just to show you that we're not one of those bands who ONLY puts up good reviews, here's our first review for the album!
From NOW WAVE zine:
Grover Kent
Me, Myself & Your Mother CD
(REVIEW BY bmo)
The first thing I thought when I started listening to this debut CD from NJ based Grover Kent was, "Wow, those drums sound cool". They sounded like drums sound when they're in the room with you, not like they sound in a recording studio. I like that.
The next thing I thought was, "I don't think the drummer is playing the same song that the rest of the band is playing". Upon repeated listenings, my fears were confirmed: the drummer is not playing the same song that the rest of the band is playing. I don't like that. Sometimes it sounds like the singer (who reminds me a bit of Art Alexakis of Everclear, with less emotional range) and the drummer are together, but not the guitar and bass. Other times the singer is right in synch with the guitar and bass, but not the drums. Only occasionally, and as if by accident, does the whole band come together with one cohesive sound. The best example of this, as well as the best written song on the disc, is "Caroline". Putting aside the fact that "Sweet Caroline" is my favorite Neil Diamond song, and the fact that I absolutely love The Silos' "Caroline", and that "Caroline, No" might just be the best thing the Beach Boys ever did, and the fact that there are about a zillion other songs about girls named Caroline, this is still a very cool pop/punk song. I like it.
I also enjoyed the hit and run quality of "Jimmy's Little Blue Hatchback" which is short enough that they finish it before the drummer has a chance to drop a beat. "Hockey and Food" is straight ahead, full speed punk 'n' roll, and contains the best single line of lyric on the disc: "She likes hockey and food - the only thing that gets my baby in the mood is hockey and food". I like that.
But there aren't very many moments like that. Most of the songs are weak, and the singer often sounds uncomfortable with his own lyrics - like he's having trouble figuring out how to squeeze all the words into the musical space available to him. I don't like that. Plus, I just can't get over the fact that the drummer doesn't seem to be playing anywhere in the same county as the rest of the band.
Bottom line: wait until they get a new drummer, and check out the follow up album.
Grover Kent's (very wittily named) website: www.yourfavoriteband.com
---bmo
(Pretty brutal, eh? It's a good thing
I'm not real sensitive, isn't it? This would probably be funnier
if it wasn't us I think, but hey, not everybody is going to dig us, I
understand
that. Well, we have a new drummer, so let's see how that
goes.
Everclear, huh? What's funny is now I want to listen to an
Everclear
album, but I don't own any. Next...)