LaceBlack

Self-produced
2008



This three song demo from Italy's LaceBlack play a blend of hard rock and pop with strong mid-late 80's influences. "Closed in a shell" kicks off the disc with a strong drum beat and a basic, but immediately catchy riff slides on. The vocals remind me of a cross between Joe LeSte of Bang Tango and Taime Downe of Faster Pussycat. It's steady, mesmerizing and grew on me with each listen. Probably my favorite track on the album. "New Excess Desire" comes on next and it's slightly slower, but revolves around thick melodies. The vocals are smooth and silk which is a big help in selling me on this song. The final song "Anytime" starts out with a slow intro that didn't entirely work for me because the vocals seemed a bit too breathy. Fortunately the pace picks up and the band slip into their comfort zone and ride this one out. The song might overstay it's welcome just a little, but still decent. This is more mellow than I normally like, but they know how to control every aspect of the song and get the most of what they do. It is slightly under produced, but I think that works to their advantage. The bass and drums are certainly rich and even raw to an extent. My only complaint was that all three tracks were around the same speed. I would have liked to have heard a little more variation, but hopefully that will happen once they do a full length album.



www.myspace.com/laceblackuniverse