How beautiful this is again! There’s a package in front of me that probably contains the long-awaited CD from “Alvin Zealot.” For a long time, I’ve been pondering which musical direction the Swiss would take to please my humble auditory organs. I guess – since I’ve really NEVER heard anything from the band – I’ll just go with “Hardcore” and hope that my usually reliable gut feeling doesn’t let me down…
Men are mostly pragmatists. Well, at least I can say that about myself. When I’m sitting on the toilet, I like to take the booklet from new records with me and let everything sink in. The presentation, the lyrics, and any little surprises that might await me. While I think about this, I notice that the tiles are really spotless… yes, they really are. I realize this for a disappointing reason: “Tears of St.Lawrence” has no damn booklet! This is very unfortunate in my eyes because I always like to examine the little booklets first and form an initial judgment. A weak consolation, however, is that at least the packaging looks very nice. It resembles some kind of fairy tale or story, which I can’t quite place. Is that a reference? If so, I don’t get it. And who or what is supposed to be “St.Lawrence” anyway? Will the riddle possibly be solved? But first, let’s get to the CD…
My gut feeling is really crap. I was quite wrong with “Hardcore” and try to categorize the recording in front of me properly. The enclosed (why actually?) pink note mentions something about an “alternative band.” The annoying thing is that almost anything can call itself “alternative” and yet sounds so different from other colleagues in the genre.
What stands out and, in my opinion, is characteristic of the band is the consistently clean guitar playing, which hasn’t revealed any real distortions. The bass sounds a bit like “blues,” and the drums hit the toms in typical rock style. Aside from the guitar, it’s especially the vocals that give the band its charm, which I would now describe as “post-rock from the 70s.” It sometimes sounds like old rock that was still played during our parents' time when they danced at their graduation ball. The music of “Alvin Zealot” serves well as music to maybe get people dancing at larger events and to create nostalgic rock’n’roll moments. The four Swiss ensure that they always maintain their line while still creating songs that truly have recognition value. Especially songs like “The Dust and his massive Chaos,” “No Vibration,” or “Gravitation’s Fool” provide a good tempo and good mood throughout the song. This extends well beyond the dance floor and invites one to listen to a song loudly in the car or just throw it on the system for fun. The other songs are well-produced sonically but took a bit of time to unfold their own character in my ear. However, once you’ve gotten into it a bit, the record flows quite smoothly.
However, the band’s adherence to their style also has its downsides, which they share with other bands. All songs have a “foundation” that reflects the style and attitude of the quartet. Similar to my “Rawside” review, it’s the same with “Alvin Zealot.” The style quickly wears thin for non-fans of the genre and will therefore only sporadically find its way onto the home system. However, until the wear date, they ensure that one retains a song or two in the back of their mind and plays them more often. The album itself doesn’t blow its load all at once but takes its time, allowing one to prepare for a few spins of the album.
Those who are not into records of this kind won’t find much to enjoy with “Alvin Zealot.” Some might even be tempted to think that the guys are daring to break out of their basement and want to make a name for themselves at MTV or VIVA. Based on their style, that could actually be a possibility, but that’s all music for the future. Fans of “alternative rock” who want a bit of music where the “overdrive” button is set to “off” can definitely take a look and perhaps discover a real gem for themselves. It’s definitely worth a listen!
Since reviews are quite subjective, it can happen that one might do a band an injustice with point scores.
After much consideration, I gave the album 6 points, although it just barely missed a “7.” The reason is simply that I find this type of music only “okay” and can only enjoy it at irregular intervals. However, I want to make this a bit more “objective” so that one doesn’t think at the beginning that the 6 points stand for mediocrity. They certainly do not (and anyone who really reads my reviews beyond the points knows that)! As a fan, one can certainly add a point or two and feel lucky to have a little personal treasure in their CD collection with “Tears of St.Lawrence.” After all, it’s clean and great rock that offers a lot between “rock’n’roll,” “classic rock,” and some mini-influences (I even think I heard a bit of reggae at one point) that will surely score well above 6 points for many tastes. Personally, it doesn’t quite hit the mark for me, which doesn’t mean that I won’t definitely include a few tracks in my collection.
Oh, and I still don’t know who “St. Lawrence” is supposed to be. Maybe the guy on the cover?... well, maybe with age comes dementia. Or wisdom, who knows?
