Some bands you just have to see live to get the full picture of all they represent. I didn't really understand the critical praise surrounding HALFWAY TO GONE, for example, until I saw their top-notch whiskey rockin' live show. Then it all swam into view, I've been hooked ever since. However, with this latest release from Louisville's GLASSPACK, a band I've heard tons of great stuff about. I must be missing something, because this disc has had me scratching my head since I first popped it into the player.

All the ingredients of greatness are here...musclecars, flames, skulls...and that's just the disc artwork. The raw, super-distorted, feedback-a-squealin' geetar sets the same mood as the early HELLACOPTERS singles, especially "Barn Party", which will get your pulse thumpin' a bit with the opening riff. But there are a couple of differences between this GLASSPACK disc and the early 'COPTERS stuff. First, the vocal distortion used by "Dirty" Dave Johnson hits hard in the opener "Twenty-Five Cents", but Johnson really overdoes it by using this same effect for all his vocals, and consequently the feel of the album suffers because of it. Second, and most important...this album has virtually no hooks whatsoever. Now, I'm not saying that Johnson and crew should go back and memorize the entire ABBA catalog or anything like that, but the songwriting on this disc what seems to be missing the most. The guitar tone and over-the-top vibe of this album had me craving stuff like DAREDEVIL's ""Geezer" (now there's a track with songwriting chops and musclecar attitude!). On this disc, the boys are just full of piss and vinegar, and Brett Holsclaw's drumming approaches Keith Moon levels from an aggressive standpoint. All this is unfortunately wasted on a set of songs that just don't stick in your head at all. The instrumental tracks like "Bridgeburner" were the ones that I seemed to gravitate to the most, simply because of my love for powerful instrumental jammin' (again, no hooks, but impressive playing) but this may not float the boat of rock fans that like the verse-chorus-versey stuff. I'd recommend those folks crank up "Fire! Fire! Fire!" and wait on this one. Visit the Glasspack page as I plan to do....because I'll be there for any East Coast tour dates to see if this stuff has more impact live.

- Marchman

OFFICIAL SITE: myspace.com/kentuckymotherfuckers

RELATED ITEMS: No related articles at this time.