we haven't posted the reviews we promised. we're sorry. we suck. we try not to, but we do.

but in all reality, we're having some issues. we're sad to say it but we think it's best that we go on an indefinite hiatus for now. our website is still being worked on and we're planning to launch with a bang when it is finally done and ready to be unveiled to the world!

so stay tuned...we'll be back and we'll give you fair warning.

thanks all. keep rockin'.

-the uc staff

things are advancing here at undercurrent magazine. we finally have a website in works and can’t wait for it to be unveiled in the near future. until then, we’ve got SEVERAL new reviews coming up this month and a couple of them will be posted this week so be on the lookout! seeing as how things are being set in motion we’re soon going to need more material to cover. we want to reach out to you, our local musicians of portland (and myspace) and the music junkies who read us to see what it is we’re exposing next. who do you think we should review or cover? what’s the show you can’t wait to pass through your town or who have you booked for your venue’s upcoming entertainment? if you’re a band, promoter, label or just a friend of any of these fine folks we want to know who’s set to release an album this week, this month or in the next couple of months!

we want your feedback, so hit us up by emailing or leaving a comment telling us who you think rocks and deserves more exposure than they’re getting now.

Expect to see a couple new reviews up within the next week or so.

Band: Anton Mink
Genre: Rock, Indie, Alternative
Album: Anton Mink
Engineered by David Barrick
Recorded at Barrick Studios in Glasgow, KY by David Barrick
Mixed by David Barrick
Mastered by David Barrick
Produced by Anton Mink and David Barrick

The next time you see that paper flyer style ad at the supermarket with little pre-cut strips of paper labeled with the same phone number 15 times over think of Anton Mink. This three-piece from Louisville met in a similar manner. The first two rendezvoused via an ad in a local alternative magazine and the third was found via an ad posted at a local music store. Who would have thought that such small actions would lead to such big sounds?

Chloa Mardis fronts Anton Mink with her sultry vocals that range from throat seduction to sweet, soft melody to all out riot girl rock, in your face growlings. At times her voice sounds akin to a rock version of Gwen Stefani and at others as though she's channeling Debbie harry. Anton Z. hooks us with guitars/bass while T. Smyth keeps us in beat, literally, as he covers the drums/percussion front.

Anton Mink opens up with "Everything". An upbeat intro leads into the vox from Mardis as she rants into the mic of the disappointing reality that there are some people out there who truly think that because they've got money that they've got everything. With lyrics like, "in your little life/ you've got everything/ everything figured out/ figured out/ well, you're so smart cause you/ liked your party/ you live your life/ you've got everything...questioning everything comes from the fear of finding out all the things that you hold dear/ are insignificant because you were livin' pretty," it's easy to see the cynicism and embittered nature of the track.

The album continues in a dark, moody and sarcastic nature through a heavy use of rock rhythms and angry vocals.

One of the stand outs on Anton Mink's self-titled release is "Armies," a reflection on the status of a broken relationship. The repeating chorus, "how you doin? where you goin'?/how have you been?/never thought i'd would have to see you again/has it been long enough for us to be friends/cause we can't go back to where we began," directly places the emphasis on the unspoken conflict and the subsequent lingering lack of resolution. Another is the reggae-tinged "Blood Clots", complete with cowbell (More Cowbell!!). Mardis sings of a strange drunken night, "forever never i'll be with you/forever never i'll be true/forever never i'll be with you i'lll be true/til hit the pavement/it was alcholic statement/couldn't get myself up/i need help/i need help from another cup."

Overall, the album has quite an enjoyable range from rockin' rage to laid-back jams. With such a variety of energy intensity in the songs it's quite easy to assume that Anton Mink puts on a great live show that will satisfy the majority of audiences. The band is currently still on tour spreading their alternative natured goodness. They'll be playing tonight back in Louisville, KY among many shows in the Louisville area in the next few months but if you're in the York, PA or Toronto, Ontario areas keep on the lookout as well.
www.antonmink.com, www.myspace.com/antonmink
-uc

As we're sure you've noticed, we haven't put anything out over the last couple of months. Unfortunately, life at times hands us obstacles which drag along over a long period of time. Thankfully though, we're proud to announce that things are beginning to come back around for us here at undercurrent and we should be posting SEVERAL reviews this month. We appreciate you sticking with us along the way and still offering your support in our mission to give ever-growing exposure to those who produce music which never justly gets exposure.

Stay tuned!

as lovers of television and film, and writers ourselves, the staff of undercurrent magazine would like to show their support for the members of the wga who are on strike right now. this has been a long time coming and while we are saddened at the loss of new material on our favorite shows that we have begun to suffer as of yesterday, we believe the fact that reasonable contract negotiations have not been reached before this point to be a greater injustice in the entertainment industry.

please, think not just of the writers and the studios but the others also affected by this strike. it starts at the top of the chain with the studios and writers but trickles down all the way to crew members such as set builders, caterers, as well as secondaries further along the chain of entertainment like those in the advertising, promotions, marketing and even retail industries.

we enjoy the luxury of being able to watch full episodes of our favorite television shows and full length movies online, on our ipods, cell phones and laptops when on the go or simply on our personal dvd players while at home but feel it is only fair and balanced to ensure that profits be reasonably shared with the great minds and hands that provide and create this material as well the wallets that produce it.

the more we speak our support of the wga and demand resolution of this issue, the quicker we will return to a state of balance in our world of entertainment.







    

Russell Stafford of Portland, OR will be playing at the Dublin Pub today (10/20/07) at 7pm. If you can't make it out tonight be sure to mark your calendars for next Saturday the 27th when he'll be playing the Greenroom in NW Portland. And if you're not in the Portland area, well then go take a gander at his page and check him out.

Band: Gejius
Genre: Chillout, Techno, Digital
Album: Black Eyes
Mixed by Gejius
Mastered at New Alliance East by Nick Zampiello
No other production information provided

Gejius (pronounced like Jesus, ya know...that guy in the white robes and long hair) sounds like the birthchild of Aphex Twin, DJ Shadow and U.N.K.L.E. Or if you're not familiar with those artists...take a Radiohead album's melody and smash it together with some Oakenfold.

Black Eyes is a definite chillout album, but not one just to soothe you to sleep, destress you nightly from work or bring you off the high of the night out dancing all over town. It's a musical dreamscape for your ears. Brooding drumbeats full of bass to reverberate through your body and whimsical bells that catapult your mind into the snowy streets of Jimmy Stewart's "It's A Wonderful Life".

The tall and slender prodigy who attended the renowned Berklee School of Music creates his music on a personal laptop. Often he can be seen camped out on a stage surrounded by keyboards, microphones and even a little smoke in one of the many venues Portland, OR has to offer.

Tracks denoted by letters of the alphabet, m being the thirteenth track on the release and titled "her Eyes on Horizon" is a definite sound standout on the album. The Middle Eastern feel of the guitar sample and upbeat rhythm will have you shakin' your booty and releasing those endorphins the entire three minutes and thirty-nine seconds. About halfway through Gejius adds in a hip hop sample of, um is it cowbell?! that only enhances the groove. Pardon me while I step out for some Baba Ghanoush.

"from Above", another standout, is a mellow composition that has those aforementioned bells as well as a sound byte of a walkie-talkie transmission termination. The elements, when combined, become haunting of the nighttime when life of the city slows as people depart the streets to turn in for the night and all that is left is a ghostly yellow light to shine on the emptiness below.

"Nihongo 2.0" does a little something special on Black Eyes unlike the rest of the tracks by opening up with jazzy horns that interweave themselves through the progression of the track between sprinklings of drum machine beats and soft and sweet keyboard melodies. "Nihongo 2.0" is the song in the soundtrack of our lives for the night that we're going out on the town and feel like the hottest cat or kitten on the block as it mimics the energy build up that we're experiencing.

Black Eyes is definitely one of the longer independent albums you'll run across as well as enjoyable. Even if you're not into the techno/instrumental side of music and need lyrics you'll find yourself entranced in the melodies and rhythms Gejius creates on his laptop and wanting to loop the album the entire night. And with a track listing that carries the listener from mood to mood it's a safe bet to say that this album will only be an enhancement to your day or night.
www.musicADD.com, www.myspace.com/gejius
-uc

Band: A Bad Think
Genre: Alternative, Rock, Progressive
Album: A Bad Think
Mixed at Sonikwire Studios by Stacy Heydon in Orange County, CA (except "Fade Away" mixed by Skip Derupa)
Recorded at Windmark Recording by Skip Derupa in Virginia Beach, VA
Mastered at Capitol Mastering by Robert Vosgien in Hollywood, CA
Produced by Michael Marquart


A Bad Think's premise is that of reflection up life and the love, hate, death, happiness and sadness that marks it. The trio from Virginia Beach, Virginia brings the guitar of Ralph Bruner and bass and some background vocals of Don Burford together with the lead vocals and instrumentation of Michael Marquart for an overall sound that floats between reality and the surreal. The album vacillates between slight mystic-like arena rock, mid-1980s style feel that is (read: cascading vocals and heavy lead guitars/solos) with "On My Own", "Sensearound" and "Eyes That Don't Lie" to a sound very akin to Pink Floyd with the tracks "Graveyard Song" and "Angel in Disguise".

The introspective nature of the band's songs lends the listener to relate to the feelings, situations and realizations Marquart tells through his vocals. "On My Own" literally deals with a lost letter arriving seven years late in the mail one day. However, metaphorically, the song is an example of the moment in life where we realize despite the friends and family that surround us their existence in our world is temporal and we are truly alone, left to carry and support ourselves 'til our last day and breath.

Hitting on the more mystical sounds, "Eyes That Don't Lie" recounts the tough truth we often encounter in relationships in life: timing is everything. Lyrics like "And now your smile gives you away/ To just another selfish scam/ Now I believe that one day you'll see me/ Through eyes that don't lie/ Now you tell me your [sic] born again/ And I'm just some casual debris," speak to the fact that sometimes we're just not on the same plane of thought or action and hard as we may try, never really connect.

On the flip side of misconnection, "Graveyard Song" focuses almost hauntingly on the fraternal bonds we make in life and symbolically carry through to death. While not explicitly being a soldier's song, the intimation towards it definitely shows through the marching rat-a-tat-tat of drums that sandwich the lyrical content Marquart sings such as, "Closer now my brothers come, as I wait my turn/ From God we come, to God we will return/ But here today we live to fight another day/ Till all are gone none of us remain."

Overall, A Bad Think is an easy listening release that brings to the forefront all of the bad issues we encounter in life and forces listeners to try and see them in a new light be it the event was for the best or that the individual is merely not the only one who has suffered it. A Bad Think delivers on their promise and moves the listener along the album from one bad think to another.
www.windmark.com, www.myspace.com/abadthink
-uc

new reviews will be posted on friday, october 12th. thanks for your patience.