Candy Coated Brick
Slow Children Playing
Auntie Grizelda Records



by William Michael Smith

Candy Coated Brick's Slow Children Playing is a strange brew of rock, mixing everything from punk to the heavy '70s sound to blatantly twisted post-industrial Zappan sonic weirdness. A "living room project", at times it presents a discordant avant garde pose while at other times you just want to bob your head and smile and say, "Hell, yeah, rock on, dudes."

An aggregation of musicians with backgrounds in punk and power pop, with vocalist Lisa Hiner fronting they often tend toward the Blondie side of the crash-boom-bang riot grrrl sound. And what could be more representative of the riot grrrl aesthetic than the pointed lines from "One Green Eye" where the singer asks of her partner, "Since when did we become so distant/And when did you become so tolerant of bullshit?"

Much of the music is ponderous, deliberate and heavy, but there is more to Candy Coated Brick than three chords, an overanxious drummer and a phalanx of guitar effects pedals. On "Down on the Farm," they combine elements of punk with slick country rock picking and achieve an infectious, pleasing hybrid sound. But it doesn't take them long to get back where their hearts really are on the manic "Serpentine," which contains all the best elements of the riot grrrl thing.

"Mood Swing(s)," which features some greasy trumpet by bassist/producer Kevin "Thud" Crothers (former member of Charlotte, NC. Power pop act, Major Nelson), is one of the most musical tracks on the album. It moves with Zappan stealth through several movements (mood swings?).

Guitarist Rudy Micallef steps out front on "Walk On Me," another blast of rock and punk attitude. This track cries out for strobe lights and vast clouds of burning incense. And on "Biggest Small Town," Micallef again rawks hard on this Zappan parody which sums up all the "biggest small towns" (in this case, I assume the references are to Charlotte, NC).

I try to circumvent
I try to hide my embarrassment
For this long black city I love
With its molasses culture
We're stuck in limbo here
Having lost most all our innocent charm
More exciting than Mayberry
Too dull to be world class

The jerking rocker "Teaser" is a hilarious put down of "good girls" and is a perfect riot grrrl musical vehicle and representative of how Candy Coated Brick thinks.

I want you to want me
But not for very long
I crave your attention
'Til another turns my head then I'm gone

I won't do that (No!), I'm a good girl
I won't do that (No!)

Candy Coated Brick is never going to take the world by storm, but that isn't their intention at all. They are having fun the way some people do jigsaw puzzles or needlepoint. Theirs is one of those pleasant musical projects among friends that will likely never go beyond regional gigs, a small but rabid local fan base that knows the words to the songs, and a warm feeling at the end of the end of the gig. And there's nothing wrong with that, I'm certain. With 23 tracks for $5, I'd call this CD a very nice bargain indeed.

* You can listen to Candy Coated Brick's Mp3's at www.cdbaby.com/ccbrick or you can order it by emailing thud-at-awod.com



Contact William Michael Smith at: wms-at-rockzilla.net

 
Read Rockzilla's Guestbook
Sign Rockzilla's Guestbook