Blast from past rocks socks off CD player
Old School
Sarah Mason
Issue date: 2/4/05 Section: Entertainment
- Page 1 of 1
Sometimes, there is just nothing new to listen to. Instead of sitting there staring at your computer screen, smashing your headphones or cursing at your radio, flip through the ol' CD case and take a trip back to the '90's. I did a little reminiscing, and here is a touch of greatness re-encountered.
Fuel is one of the last of a dying breed. Brett Scallions's sloppy, emotionally charged vocals accompanied by guitarist Carl Bell, bassist Jeff Abercrombie and drummer Kevin Miller provide listeners with a mixture of energetic rock and clean grunge. 1998's "Sunburn" includes tracks like "Shimmer" with a keen tempo switch when harmony and percussion are gradually added to the lead guitar and poetic lyrics (She dreams a champagne dream/ strawberry surprise/ pink linen on white paper).It's title track, an impassioned blend of a quiet introductory riff and bleak, mature angst is depicted in the album cover design, an image of a screaming man being burnt by the sun.
Their mentality is unlike that of many of the newer bands, conveying more than scars from the loss of a girlfriend.
"Jesus or a Gun" ponders much deeper thoughts by posing religious questions (It's safe to say, I don't desire/ everything you push inside my head. and I'll reject it until I'm dead. . . tell me now, who's my saving one/ Jesus or a gun?), while "Song For You" is apologetic about his own selfishness.
Even when they are talking about a girl, instead of bluntly saying "I want you, I miss you, I need you," Fuel expresses those thoughts creatively, in lyrics such as "All she keeps inside isn't on the label" ("Shimmer") and "I'm the one she calls ozone baby/ she waits alone for me to come down" ("Ozone").
Although I have no musical basis from which to comment, I can say Fuel knows better than a lot of newer bands how to be innovative.
They can play more than just catchy chords and don't annoyingly get stuck in your head.
"Sunburn" is a refreshing disc that could boast depth, but doesn't need to, by a band that could ride to the top on image promotion (they do have a sexy frontman), but won't, with much more to offer. "Sunburn" is a great CD to pick up when you have run out of new stuff to spin.
Fuel is one of the last of a dying breed. Brett Scallions's sloppy, emotionally charged vocals accompanied by guitarist Carl Bell, bassist Jeff Abercrombie and drummer Kevin Miller provide listeners with a mixture of energetic rock and clean grunge. 1998's "Sunburn" includes tracks like "Shimmer" with a keen tempo switch when harmony and percussion are gradually added to the lead guitar and poetic lyrics (She dreams a champagne dream/ strawberry surprise/ pink linen on white paper).It's title track, an impassioned blend of a quiet introductory riff and bleak, mature angst is depicted in the album cover design, an image of a screaming man being burnt by the sun.
Their mentality is unlike that of many of the newer bands, conveying more than scars from the loss of a girlfriend.
"Jesus or a Gun" ponders much deeper thoughts by posing religious questions (It's safe to say, I don't desire/ everything you push inside my head. and I'll reject it until I'm dead. . . tell me now, who's my saving one/ Jesus or a gun?), while "Song For You" is apologetic about his own selfishness.
Even when they are talking about a girl, instead of bluntly saying "I want you, I miss you, I need you," Fuel expresses those thoughts creatively, in lyrics such as "All she keeps inside isn't on the label" ("Shimmer") and "I'm the one she calls ozone baby/ she waits alone for me to come down" ("Ozone").
Although I have no musical basis from which to comment, I can say Fuel knows better than a lot of newer bands how to be innovative.
They can play more than just catchy chords and don't annoyingly get stuck in your head.
"Sunburn" is a refreshing disc that could boast depth, but doesn't need to, by a band that could ride to the top on image promotion (they do have a sexy frontman), but won't, with much more to offer. "Sunburn" is a great CD to pick up when you have run out of new stuff to spin.
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