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From Okie Load Fanzine
November 1997, Volume 2, Issue 11


Slugwrench
Demo 3 Review

SOCKS DOES SLUGWRENCH

Jason Shepherd said of the latest cassette tape from his band Slugwrench: 'You'll like this one.' Well, I liked the other ones. But he was right. I LIKE this one.

Still with a heavily industrial/techno sound, Jason seems to have worked some on getting his latest songs to have more danceable beats to them. The first song 'Pincushion' is a great example: you simply can't sit still to this one: it's infectious. Moving disease. . . toes tapping. 'Malignant' has that Star Wars/STOMP feel to it that a lot of the songs on the earlier tapes had: consistent beat throughout though, even with that bassoon (?) going-and the elephant stampede toward the end.

'The Mood is Fear' reminds me of another Tulsa one-man band's work: Pale or Mark Weintz, who I've reviewed in the past--with its sort of Eastern rhythm; course the distorted vocals are quite a bit different from Mark's. Jason makes good use of some good samples and sound bytes (or maybe it's just Jason putting on a nerdy voice) on this tape, especially on 'Drat.'

'Chog' is a psycho air-raid with Chewbacca doing backing vocals. 'Meek' is anyhting but--the closest thing to a radio friendly industrial dance tune you can find on this tape. This song made Socks, my puppy dog, run full-speed through the kitchen and dining room and head first into the door stop behind the closet. BOOOING!!!!

'Slugwrench Girls' has the clearest lyrics of any of the songs: a chick reciting from the Slugwrench girls sex manual and doing some heavy-duty moaning in illustration. 'Bury your face in this.' 'Plan 18' has a sound that I would normally associate with industrial: like the machinery in a factory grinding out a worker's melody.

'Dissolve' seems more sound effects than song--though I guess we could all have different ideas on what a song is anyway. 'Repulsive Discoveries' is a hell of a name for a song. Millennium ought to use it for their theme--this sounds like what the devil would sing if we gave him a mic and a wrecked accordion. Socks scratched the screen door until I let him out on this one.

'Trapped' is a agoraphobic's brain waves recorded and attached to a Harley spinning on a bike stand. 'Slugwrench Love Song' is too much of a tribute to torture for me, but the piano is lovely. 'Plan 20' is plain funky, man.

I'm sure I don't know all the labels, but if you're looking for some music in the techno vein--with some real original sound to it--you don't have to go outside the city. Most of the songs on this tape will be on Slugwrench's first CD which Jason is working on now.

If you'd like a copy of the tape though, contact Jason at P.O. Box 55701 Tulsa 74155-5701. Demo's 1 & 2 are also available at Starship and Mohawk.

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