Way back when, I remember buying at least one ALICE DONUT album. Admittedly purchasing decisions were sometimes made based on a record label's output (even if a band was a largely an unknown beast) so naturally with the aid of disposable income, a number of punk rock gems were unearthed from the SST and Alternative Tentacles rosters. ALICE DONUT threw me for a loop though with their psychedelic punk as I was expecting the outfit's punk rock to gnaw through to the insides with raw primal brain bludgeoning speed, so their scattered direction wasn't an instant fit.

A distinct ALICE DONUT sound has always been tough to nail down mainly because of the variety of styles the band covers. In the case of "Ten Glorious Animals" the flavor of choice is watered-down versions of various 80's and 90's "alternative" bands. "No more room" paints by numbers of THE JESUS AND MARY CHAIN, the black clothing smeared a weak gray and the blame cannot be laid upon Scottish white powder. It's impossible to listen to "Don't I Know" and not fight the temptation to yell, "SONIC YOUTH, you're snapped!" The green-eyed monster is staring firmly at DAVID BOWIE in the final two original tracks. Fortunately, the creative well hasn't completely dried up: The piano-dominated "Mrs Carradine" grabs with its Peter Murphy vocals while "Shiloh" stomps and kicks hellbilly country ass, aiming and hitting dirt fair and square in the eye.

While there's no complaint for overall listenability, ALICE DONUT's imitation of past contemporaries is a large problem. This is an album that could have been made by a much less experienced band rather than a bunch of old hands. It's impossible not to think that most of these songs were originally intended as B-sides, aimed at a few hardcore elite vinyl nerds.

- Carr

OFFICIAL SITE: www.alicedonut.com

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