Axident Avenue Shaken and Disturbed
by Joe Mis
Staff Writer
If sleaze rock is your thing, you might want to check out Axident Avenue’s new release entitled Shaken And Disturbed. In the true spirit of sleaze, little of this release is cultured, classy or thought-provoking – it is a straight up tribute to the sex, drugs and rock-and-roll trilogy.
Formed in 2006, Axident Avenue features the standard four-piece lineup. Vocalist Stazii Violet fronts the band and has a decent voice for the genre, but his range is extremely limited and he occasionally washes out as he pushes the top end. His voice is relatively thin and the mix of the album makes him sound a bit whiny and unenthusiastic. Ricky Holmes plays the guitar well. He lays down some nice hooks and catchy rhythm lines, and handles the heavier stuff with a capable hand. Soloing is not his strength although he does occasionally display some real flashes of brilliance, but as a result most of his breaks are short and to the point. Drummer Lucky DeVille and bassist Valentine are a very solid bottom end, and display a great deal of teamwork while providing the true backbone of the music.
“Intro” sets the stage for the disc and is a bit misleading. It starts with some simple guitar patterns which annoyingly fade in and out and more from left channel to right, and then some very classical metal guitars click in and the piece seems like it will go orchestral but never does. It nosedives right into the sleaze/glam with “Don’t Fall In Love” — which isn’t a bad song, but the mix of the album pushes the bottom end and the vocals seem lost in the wall of sound. Holmes’ guitar solo is very sweet and lays nicely over the sleaze groove. “Dirty With You” has a great GNR feel to it, plenty of guitars, lots of energy and sleazy sex-drenched lyrics. “Cheap Shot” has a great pounding rhythm line that is unfortunately marred by the overly crude lyrics. “Holiday” has a good straight up rock beat and good lyrics – undoubtedly the best track on the disc by far. It is one of the few times where the whole band seems to be on the same page and all seem to be interested in what the are doing.
“Alley Cat” has a good chugging guitar line and what seems to be a great vocal line save for the fact that is buried under the booming bass and drums. The overly sexual lyrics of the track seem to be carefully written with an extremely predictable rhyme scheme, as if the band was trying to be deliberately trashy. “It’s My Life” is a total waste of a track – it sounds like the band is way out of their comfort zone and everyone would prefer to be playing something else. “2nd 2.0” opens heavy and stays that way, allowing Holmes to lay down the best guitar licks on the CD and everyone seems at their best here. This track is the second bright spot on the album, and it all seems to come together nicely. If the rest of the album matched this quality it would be a winner, but sadly that is not true.
“Sleep When Your Dead” is another forced sounding party track, although it has a very kicky rhythm line and some fine, intricate drum work. “Runaway” – yes, these guys seem to like borrowing song titles from other bands – is another track that has potential with a great rhythm line and some nice complex layered vocals, but once again the vocals seem to be buried by the drums and bass so the effect is lost. At long last “Axident Avenue” wraps the disc. At least they go out on a high — this is a gritty, crunchy track with some excellent bass work, good drums, decent guitar work and energetic vocals.
As noted earlier, the engineering and production are not the best. The vocals seem to be mixed in as if they are secondary instruments – or the bottom end is mixed way to high. Violet has a thin and reedy voice to begin with, and it often seems to get beaten by the bass and drums. Even the requisite gang vocals don’t seem powerful or enthusiastic. Granted most of the negatives may simply be a result of the engineering, but the overall impact on the album is devastating.
While fully attempting to embody the spirit of the sleaze/glam genre, Axident Avenue’s album falls short in execution. The music seems too polished and precise to be true sleaze, and much of this sleaziness comes across as cold and calculated. It seems like the crude lyrics and overall style is forced and unnatural – almost as if some of the songs were written to allow the band to live on pure shock value rather than musical talent. This is unfortunate since the members of the band all have genuine musical talent, and in this case the whole is not equal to the sum of the parts. They are at their strongest when they are doing pure rock, but the sleazier they are the weaker they are…
Sleaze and glam should be crude, and must be spontaneous – real party music, but Shaken And Disturbed feels manufactured and doesn’t seem to come from the heart.
Avoid this release unless you are seriously into sleaze.
Genre: Sleaze Rock
Band:
Stazii Violet (vocals)
Lucky DeVille (drums)
Valentine (bass)
Ricky Holmes (guitar)
Track Listing:
1. Intro
2. Don’t Fall In Love
3. Dirty With You
4. Cheap Shot
5. Holiday
6. Alley Cat
7. It’s My Life
8. 2ND 2.0
9. Sleep When Your Dead
10. Runaway
11. Axident Avenue
Label: Demon Doll Records
Website: http://www.myspace.com/axidentavenue
Hardrock Haven rating: 5/10