REVIEW: TWOTHIRTYEIGHT - REGULATE THE CHEMICALS

 

TWOTHIRTYEIGHT - REGULATE THE CHEMICALS (Tooth and Nail, 2002)

Produced by James Wisner

Recorded at Wisner Productions

Artwork by Chris Staples and Twothirtyeight

Tracks: 1- The Hands of Men, 2- There is no Dana, 3- Coin-Laundry Loser, 4- The Sticks are Woven in the Spokes, 5- This Town Will Eat You, 6- The Spoiled One, 7- Les Wirth, 8- Moving Too Far, 9- Songs Will Write the Words, 10- Ears and Fingers, 11- Indian in your Eyes

The first thing that got my attention is the huge sound that this CD has (despite not being an ultra heavy band ). The clean guitars are really well mixed in great combination with the bass and the arrangements can be heard in all their magnitude. Twothirtyeight´s music relies heavily on melodies (made by the guitars or the vocals) but it seems to me that this melodies are not happy. In fact I feel there is some dark or sad element in their music. I can not say what it is but I can feel it. Maybe Vocalist Chris Staples melodic lines are dark (sometimes he reminded me of The Cure´s Robert Smith). A good option for those who like very melodic music with some interesting twist. Favorite tracks: "There is No Dana", "This Town Will Eat You" and "Moving Too Far". Contact: www.toothandnail.com