Recently, I’ve been downloading and listening to music like crazy from Band Camp. This is a review of a group of songs by the same band I got from Band Camp- usually it constitutes an EP. This is a song-by-song review and it is never to exceed six songs. At the end, I will tell you the “Recommended Downloading Level”, which means whether or not I think you should spend your time downloading these songs. It’s on a scale from 1 to 5, 5 meaning that you should stop reading my review and download these songs immediately and 1 meaning that if you even think about downloading these songs your computer will be infected with a horrific bad music virus. Enjoy.
Midnight Norma Lane “Moxy Kid EP”
01: “Junkie” [4:50] -- The lead off track has a lead off guitar track that sounds like that of the Hole song “Doll Parts”. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing considering that the vocals remind me of Hole as well. We have sludgy, distorted guitar tracks with vocals that get higher in the chorus and kind of drag throughout the verses. Yes, the distortion rains down pretty heavy at times.
02: “Dead Actress” [4:19] -- This song has a different vibe to it, opening with some distorted guitar notes and then going from quieter verses into a much louder chorus. I’ll be honest, though it’s not quite as heavy I do think this song kind of reminds me of Kittie for some reason.
03: “78SixSixSix” [2:20] – With a bit more oomph, not only does this song stand out from the rest as being the shortest, but also for having the “whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh” type chorus that adds almost a hint of pop to these otherwise seemingly dark and dredging songs. Though it does have a powerful breakdown when it reaches the end, this song is a good representation of this band, I would assume, if you wanted people to like them.
04: “Stage Love” [3:07] -- Here we kick off with some start and stop guitar chords and female screaming. When we reach the chorus, this is the one song that sounds the most like the others and is possibly going to be the hardest to distinguish from the pack. However, some most excellent drumming eventually remedies that situation.
05: “Words Like Bones” [4:20] – While slower than most of the other songs, this one kind of drags along with the screaming and guitar riffs. And I don’t mean screaming like a hardcore band but more like what you would think of from a band such as Hole (Who I keep going to as my reference point for some reason) Can I say this song has a more mellow tune to it than the others because of its length? Was this written while high? Is this that stoner slop everyone keeps telling me about? Oh well, I still enjoy the overall sound of Midnight Norma Lane.
06: “Micro Maps of Happiness” [5:00] -- It takes a while for this song to kick in and when it does, we’re back to that Hole “Doll Parts” sound, as we’re kind of being told a story through the opening lines. I really like this song because it seems to have a minor musical role while vocals can be heard, but then when the vocals go away, the musical portion takes over in a full onslaught. It becomes this fire that doesn’t sound like a metal or hardcore band by any means, but it still manages to burn all which gets within its way.
These six songs go for nearly twenty four minutes and if you’re a fan of female fronted bands like Hole, Garbage, Kittie and especially L7, then I recommend this band to you for certain. It has a sort of grunge vibe to it that I’m really digging and in some ways it sounds like what I would imagine it to sound like if Courtney Love (or perhaps someone slightly more talented) was to front one of my all-time favorite bands that everyone probably forgot about: Hum. Yes, to see Midnight Norma Lane live and hear them cover “Stars” would not only be completely expected (In a way that it makes perfect sense) but it would also be a great treat.
Recommended Downloading Level: 4/5
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