MOCKINGBIRD LANE - 2003 Demo
The blandly-titled five-song 2003 Demo from Mockingbird Lane is a good listen for fans of death-rock and horror-punk. The recording quality is minimal at best and the tracks are muffled throughout. Christophe's dark and low vocals lend way to screeching, trebly and seemingly never-ending guitars. Most of the drum recordings on the disc are drowned out by the guitars. Bringing the drums up in the mix would benefit many of these songs. The opening track "Taken Under" is a tale of heartbreak and worthlessness with a good hook. The disc also includes an acoustic version of the same song, which is about a minute longer than it should be. I wish other local bands would take a cue from this and add an acoustic track to some of their releases. "She" is a Misfits cover and is pulled off pretty well. Nothing too over the top and stays pretty much to form of the original. "I...Vampire" is the fastest moving original track of the bunch. Christophe's vocals sound like something out a B-movie horror flick. "Wolfshead" could be pulled off better with a higher quality recording. The backup "woah-oh-ohs" are ill-timed and just don't fit. However, the guitar work on this track is commendable.From what I can gather, Mockingbird Lane has gone through numerous changes and is probably still trying to evolve as a band. If they stick to their d-rock, horror-punk style, this quality of recording will do just fine. Minimalism has always been a streamline for this style.- Ryan La Croix, 02/09/04
