New Review of Stone Cold Blue

Back in April, I figured before publicizing the 3 re-issues, I ought to do at least a little for Stone Cold Blue, as, back in 2003, I had no budget to do it and no energy either. So I joined indie-music.com and sent them a copy.

Here is the review they posted yesterday:

"While Bernie Bernie Headflap has grown in band members since this outing, Stone Cold Blue features the one-man-band styling of founder Alan McCabe boasting a collection of songs written between 2000 and 2003. The album shows off an interesting mix of instrumental and vocal tracks without ever letting one completely define the CD’s sound. Headflap’s music seems to be more about exploring the possibilities of the modern rock genre than either being a straight alternative or electronic band. McCabe never lets the music go too far in one direction and continuously employs both techniques in a pleasant balance. I have this feeling there’s a strong Devo and/or They Might Be Giants influence here.

There’s a lot to like in the music of Stone Cold Blue. McCabe really has a knack for creating some extremely catchy melodies. I’m very much digging the rhythm of “Action is Fast,” which features a bouncy xylophone/synthesizer sound (I’m honestly not sure what). It kind of reminds me of “The Nurse” from The White Stripe’s Get Behind me Satan album – just a bit more energetic (and electronic). Many of these songs feature some kind of particular beat that gets stuck in your head and refuses to leave. With this in mind, I think some of the CD’s strongest tracks are the instrumentals, which allow McCabe to truly show off his composition skills. The opening track “Icicles” is especially well put together, featuring an eerie little tune which carries almost continuously through the entire song. Once the strong drum beat is added, the track creates a sound that I can only describe as chilling. Very cool indeed.

So the music’s likable, but how are the vocals? Well, I feel like Bernie Bernie Headflap has potential to do better than this. Unfortunately, there are times where I think the recording equipment McCabe used is holding him back. Sometimes the echo’s a bit too strong or the singing gets to be more distorted than it probably should. These aren’t terrible problems really, but at times the vocals suddenly become louder and the effect can be a little grating on the ears. However, these are things that can sometimes come with the indie music atmosphere. It’s all part of the experience to see the groundwork for something special. Really though, I think if the sound were a bit more polished and McCabe worked on the vocal range some, Bernie Bernie Headflap could be an especially entertaining band. Hearing Stone Cold Blue makes me interested in seeing how the sound has evolved over the past few years. "

I cannot argue with one word of that.