Robin Brock Monsters
by Keith Schwier
Staff Writer
Hailing from Calgary , Alberta , Canada and armed with a unique set of vocal pipes that packs equal parts power and clarity, Robin Brock is a ticking time bomb of brash female independence and hard-edged musical adventureism. She clearly has immense talent and makes sure she presents her music in a way that is uncompromising to conventional vanilla mainstream, but still writes with enough focus and skill that musical ears with take notice of her constant attention to detail in crafting a good hook.
Monsters truly is an experimental record that never allows itself to rest comfortably in one area, perhaps the reflection of an artist who has spent much of her life shuffling from one area to the next without any time to settle.
Brock shows off everything in her arsenal, from the industrial tinged title track to the throbbing “Master and Slave,” where dark, crunching, staccato guitar licks lay the bed for a tasty sing-along chorus that reads, “You are the master, I am slave, I get so tortured, I only obey.” Sure enough, this isn’t a lady who needs to come out of her shell. There’s slow-burn heavy metal barnstorming in the way of “The Witching Hour,” which sounds eerily similar to the gloom and doom of Black Sabbath’s early days, as well as octane-fueled rockers like “Warrior,” dressed up in straight-on rock simplicity that gets to the point quickly. “You might think you’re stronger, but I’m a warrior and you won’t break me.” There are even hints of synthesized new wave in the punchy “New Addiction” as well as understated moments of earthy beauty in the acoustic-driven “Solitary Girl,” a tender, revealing ballad that serves as a major highlight of the record and features one of Robin’s strongest vocal performances.
Partnering herself with songwriter, programmer, and co-producer John Capek is a collaboration that pays off, as he succeeds in helping her make the material sound fresh and original without letting her go too far astray in one direction. Certainly these two people work well as counterparts to one another, creating a primary focus on musical shading, preserving the delicate balance of quiet subtly vs. raw power, and creating a critical listening ear in the studio of where the song is naturally taking them.
Many of the choruses are catchy, a few of them to the point of being contagious, such as the aforementioned “Master and Slave” and “New Addiction.” The only missteps are the flat electronica moments of “Fuel” and “Power It Through,” songs that never really reach any peaks musically and seem to fizzle more than set the speakers aflame. The momentary dips in quality are few and far between, and thankfully the songs that feature middle of the road verses, such as “7 Pieces,” are driven up the next level by well-constructed choruses that bring aboard new depth and highlight Robin’s rich voice.
Monsters stands up strong, as a whole, from start to finish and doesn’t suffer from too much extraneous riffing or directionless material. One fundamental rule in crafting a record that holds up well over multiple listens is that you never reveal all your tricks at once, so Brock is keen to let the mood and direction of her compositions dictate what is appropriate in any given spot and not try to do too much with any one song. Sure, not every experiment works, but once she reigns herself in a little and finds a succinct musical voice, you sense that Robin is going to be a strong female voice in rock for a long time to come.
Website: www.robinbrock.com
Track Listing:
1) Monsters
2) New Addiction
3) Two Words
4) Master and Slave
5) 7 Pieces
6) Solitary Girl
7) Fuel
8 Power It Through
9) Warrior
10) The Witching Hour
Hardrock Haven rating: 7/10