Roxy Epoxy and the Rebound - Bandaids on Bullet Holes Review
Posted by C.A. Bell on 07.11.2009
A solo debut from the Northwest underground scene....this one could go either way for sure.
Track Listing:
1. Walls – (Drat, Epoxy) 2:40
2. New Way – (Bergler, Epoxy, Gold) 3:07
3. I Know I Know – (Drat, Epoxy) 3:48
4. Dependence Leads Your Fortune – (Drat, Epoxy) 2:59
5. This Twist – (Drat, Epoxy) 2:23
6. 1000 – (Drat, Epoxy) 3:11
7. Svengali – (Drat, Epoxy) 2:47
8. Fun – (Drat, Epoxy) 1:51
9. Lola’s Vision – (Drat, Epoxy) 3:54
10. The Spider and the Leach – (Drat, Epoxy) 2:53
11. Unnamed – (Drat, Epoxy) 3:02
12. Watch Me – (Drat, Epoxy) 2:54
Label: Metropolis Release Date: 03.10.09 Genre: New Wave/Post-Punk Revival, Indie Rock Running Time: 35:30 Producer: Martin Feveyear, Roxy Epoxy and the Rebound
The Players:
Roxy Epoxy – Vocals
Qat Bergler – Guitar
Drat – Guitar, Vocals
Jairus Dathan – Keyboards
Lola Gold – Bass, Vocals
Ryan Moore – Percussion
Billed as a new wave/punk act, I’ll have to admit that before listening I was really afraid of what I was walking into with Roxy Epoxy’s first solo effort, Bandaids on Bullet Holes. The things I was reading and seeing were really stinking of riot grrrl, and there is nothing I hate more in the world than feeling like I’m listening to a movement instead of an album. Luckily for me, Roxy did impress. Instead of just another musician that isn’t interested in saying much more than she’s female and angry, Roxy Epoxy is definitely a standalone voice that should be heard, and I’ve got a feeling she is going to get there.
Breaking away from the Portland area act, the Epoxies, this is Roxy’s first solo effort. In describing the sound, I would actually walk away from the term ‘new wave’. When someone describes themselves as new wave today, I get bothered by thoughts of yet another ‘80s throwback indie group that wants to make nerdy cool. I would also probably not use punk in describing the sound here either. Instead, I think a much better way to say this is proto-punk revival with electronics. Roxy sounds a lot more like Iggy Pop or Patti Smith than say the Descendants. Probably the most accurate way I could describe it would be to label her the illegitimate child of the Shiny Toy Guns and Concrete Blonde.
Bandaids on Bullet Holes begins with its strongest foot forward on “Walls”. This track is like a Yeah Yeah Yeahs single that you can dance too….and by dance I don’t mean any of that weird gyrating that Karen O does on stage. “Walls” is the best and most interesting track on the record. The album moves forward with “New Way”, this is a great little rocker that displays Roxy and the band’s energy wonderfully. The album keeps this energy up for the remainder of the first half and is a really fun listen.
My complaints with Bandaids on Bullet Holes come from two places. First, the production is a bit depressing. This is something that normally wouldn’t bother me from a local act, but here it becomes a bit infuriating because this is a group that is begging to sound raw, but the production is trying to make it sound polished and clean. I’m absolutely sure these songs song ten-fold better live than they do on the recording. Also, Roxy’s vocal levels are just too high and it really hurts the record. The listener has to strain to pay attention to the band playing behind her, and the knife drives in a bit deeper when you realize that this band is playing their collective ass off and they sound really tight. The result is really raw music with an overly sanitized vocal constantly lording over it.
Second, this release would have been a LOT stronger if it had been released as an EP. The first half of the album is interesting and extremely listenable, but by the second half the songs aren’t nearly as strong, and the flat production makes everything run together in such a way that after the first listen, I didn’t even notice the record end for thirty seconds after the last track. The album is top heavy with great tracks that get you excited about it, but ends with a dying whimper.
The 411: This release is intriguing. It's single biggest problem is that it could have been so much better than it was. If she comes to New York, I'll be there in a heartbeat. Until she gets into a real studio, I'm probably going to stay away from the albums though. Roxy Epoxy is absolutely someone to keep an eye on.
