No Cabaret License / To the Point
Mass Hysteria – No Cabaret License
The first time I saw these guys they were opening for the Pietasters in Boston. They sounded pretty good, but I missed most of their set (damn red sox game left no parking for the show) so I wasn’t able to get a very good feel for the band. So I picked up their CDs on the way out and all I can say is wow. No Cabaret License has a mere three songs but they’re all pretty solid. All three tracks were recorded live in Cambridge at the WMBR radio studio. The first and third cuts are purely instrumental that remind me of The Players’ (a DC ska band that plays mostly instrumental songs) style ska-jazz fusion. Track two, “Give it Up” features the soothing voice of Rachel Eliot, whose vocals were added after the track was originally recorded. Whether the vocals were an afterthought, or planned all along, I’m glad the band decided to put them in. Rachel’s voice adds so much to the song, and she genuinely sounds like a pissed off former lover when she sings. Every time I hear this track, a smile comes to my face as I picture her singing this song to an ex-boyfriend. This is one of the most danceable songs that I’ve heard in a while, even as I’m sitting here on the train writing this, I’m dancing in my seat, what can I say?….it’s infectious.
Mass Hysteria – To the Point
This disk starts off strong with “Out of Your Mind”, a track that show the band’s ability to write songs that are full of ‘in-your-face’ energy. This is contrasted by track two which is a quite a bit slower, soulful love song, spearheaded by the voice of Rachel Eliot. Track four; “Wahini” features the talents of both of the band’s primary vocalists. Again, this is a very soulful song, a duet between two lovers that is capped off nicely by Jack Leckie’s guitar solo, which slowly fades out to end the song. Things speed up a little for the next track appropriately titled “Sizzle”, Matt Giorgio ventures to the spotlight with a trumpet solo, and Alex Stern does a great job on lead vocals for this extra jumpy song, which is about as close to ska-punk as Mass Hysteria gets. They do a great job with it, but I hope they’ll stick to the more traditional sounds rather than take off towards the realm of ska-punk. A few punky songs are ok, but the world has too many ska-punk bands out there and not enough traditional sounding ska bands. This CD ends disappointingly with “Watch Out”. This track isn’t particularly bad; it just doesn’t have the same pizzazz or live up to the high standard that the band has set for themselves with their other songs.
All around, these aren’t bad disks, they’re a little short, but I can’t complain about that too much seeing as how I paid five bucks for both of them. Mass Hysteria shows flashes of brilliance and mediocrity on these releases, but I expect that they will only get better with the passing of time. With that being said, I’m really looking forward to hearing their upcoming release “Waiting for the Day” on primary voltage records, which is scheduled for release in December of 2002.