Here is a very cool review on our cd "Bet on Red" from www.wormtown.org
Thanks Scott!
Singuya – BET ON RED – SELF RELEASED (Produced by
singuya; Recorded and Mixed by Pete Degraff at M-80 Studios Worcester, MA; Mastered by Dorian Gatej at Vemplore Studios Worcester, MA)
What we’ve got here is three wise guys mixing hard rock, punk, funk,
reggae, hip hop, country, and whatever else suits their fancy. Other
bands have mixed the first five genres to some success, but add in the
last one and things can get awkward. Most country hip-hop I’ve heard
sounds so silly that it’s ridiculous. Country and reggae? I’ve always
assumed that they were exact polar opposites. Folks I know who play
music allot, say in general business wedding bands, cover bands, and
original bands in any given week tell me that going from reggae to
country doesn’t take that much of an adjustment at all. Go figure. All
rocket science aside, this disc is a lot of fun.
“Hey,” with its shout along King of the Hill rockin’ oi punk sounds
like just the right way to kick off a fun time. They go into a low down
skankin’ groove for “The Legend of Bonnie Amiss.” Guitarist/vocalist
Brian “Boom Boom” Howa sings what sounds like an old pirate sea shanty
in a truly soulful voice that sounds older than his years. Looking at
their picture on the CD, I’m going to guess that they’re all in their
mid-20s. That same soulful voice cracks quite a bit during “Sweet
Sanity,” but I like the song anyway. “10:10” brings back the shout
along punk, with a sad tale of heartbreak that Boom Boom sings in a
choked up Mike Ness meets Iggy Pop style. On “The Shanty,” Boom sings
of suffering for your rock and roll and to be yourself. They sound like
kindred spirits of Boston / Amherst punk rock reggae warriors Jaya the
Cat when they sing, “I’ve slept in my car, been tossed out of bars.
I’ve been beaten by unruly thugs; from broken bottles, to kicks in the
head, to blows from the cop’s billy clubs.”
“Lonely as it Comes” slows things down to a crawl as Boom emotes and
his starts to crack much like it did in “Sweet Sanity” when he goes
higher than his natural range.
singuya
goes into a bluesy jazzy shuffle for “She’s with Me.” While the band
plays this happy tune, local Steve Lefebvre lends a honkin’ trumpet.
They start out “The Raft” with some happy lounge jazz before blasting
into double barrel one two f**k you punk and skip into some infectious
rock groove jammin’ ska pop for “Sunshine Funk Mama.” Both are actually
heartfelt love songs that could make a girl feel really touched…or
really awkward. “Rats” starts out with some jangly strummed guitar
before moving into a punk rock shout along. If theirs a handclapping
tune on the album, this is it. This ends up winding down to a slow jazz
tune as Boom sings of arguing with his girl. For such a seemingly happy
guy, Boom sure seems to have his share of relationship problems. “$3
Vodka” reenacts an aggressive panhandling scene similar to those I’ve
personally witnessed while working in a liquor store in Main South in
Worcester. They crack me up with the line, “ Three dollar vodka don’t
taste good, but man it gets you drunk.”
They go into the home stretch with the demented ska of “Space Cake
(David Geffen Here We Come)” and the chilled out funk of “Make Moves.”
I’m partial to make moves because it keeps me dancing. They break
things up with the western movie soundtrack sounding “Fall Hiva.”
Flutes and mariachi sounding music fill the air as Bomm sings of a
mysterious lady that visits him in Hudson (something about these guys
made me suspect that they were from Hudson). “The Reggae Joint”
finishes things off with a bouncy tune about how time catches up with
everyone, good music and good songwriting to wrap up this 48 minute
disc. I got a lot of long CDs this month. Radio stations frown on that,
but you may have noticed that many of those aren’t playing music
anymore anyways. When they’re all gone, all you got left is your fans.
singuya fans should really like this disc. People who didn’t know them in the first place, this disc will win them over.
http://www.singuya.comhttp://wormtown.org/article.php?story=20090902145900247&query=singuya