Cavemen - "Blaze Beats"
(MT6 Records 2010, MT6 114)
Cavemen - "Blaze Beats"
(MT6 Records 2010, MT6 114)
From Aural Innovations #42 (May 2011)
Limited edition - 75 copies - hand numbered
First off, I wanted to mention that this Cavemen 'Blaze Beats' CD is a bit off course from what I usually review for Aural Innovations. Cavemen is strictly a duo - Chief Pokawa and New Age Hillbilly, as both musicians play guitar, keyboards, drums and supply vocals. In the past fifteen years, the two have been in other bands - Glass City, Animal Twat, Rot Guts and Operation Huss. Cavemen's influences have been said to be that of Beck, Jane's Addiction, Public Image Limited and as hard to believe (as it is) Cannibal Corpse. Total of ten tracks here with a duration of 32:16. On the upside, interested parties can purchase the disc for a very affordable price. Tunes that I got the most out of were "Clams", the catchy "Jefferson", "Times", "Clouds" and the almost '80's British goth-sounding "Statistics". But the two songs I liked the best were the two that I felt had somewhat of a psychedelic vibe and feel to them - "Hours of Life" (possibly the CD's most astounding track) and "Cannibalism". In my humble opinion 'Blaze Beats' would best be described as 21st century indie rock. Saw one source where the blogger describes as more like '80's underground / goth lo-fi keyboard pop. Either way, I'm glad I wound up listening to this duo from Baltimore, Maryland - who play only a handful of live gigs in and around their surrounding area. 'Blaze Beats' was mixed by the two members - CD recorded using Wav. Files - being passed back and forth from the player's home studios. Recommended for fans that are truly on the lookout for 'new' and interesting music that would be tough to classify.
For more info, visit: http://www.mt6records.com
Reviewed by Mike Reed