Evan Russell Saffer ~ Neon Gas (album review) ... Shopping at the chemical marketplace!

Style: glam rock, hard rock, progressive
Label:
Year: 2010
Home: New York City

Members: Evan Russell Saffer ~ vocals
Wilson Lihn ~ guitars/b. vocals
Cody Darbe ~ bass
Rob Blake ~ drums
Additional: Urban Olsson ~ guitar
Rick Warren ~ piano/b. vocals
David J. Holman ~ synthesizer
D. James Goodwin ~ voice
Evan Parness ~ percussion/b. vocals
Boris Corchesco ~ strings
Kyle Wooden, Leslie DiNicola ~ b. vocals

Having seen the New York glam band Fixer live & been impressed enough to buy their debut CD the next day ... I'm a bit embarrassed to say that frontman ERS's debut Neon Gas is a more appealing listen. But, I should be honest by saying that his charismatic stage presence is largely what kept my eyes riveted to the stage ... while all the girls in the audience were riveted to him for ... different reasons. Not to put down the talent & music of his band but ERS has presented with Neon Gas more what I was hoping to find with Fixer. Perhaps its the fact that Fixer falls firmly in the glam camp while ERS has presented a mix of different styles with lots of hooks, vocal dynamics, interesting, ever-changing & unique arrangements crafting something far more progressive & intricate. Actually, the difference is comparable to H.I.M. versus Mick Ronson of the Spiders From Mars. Actually early Alice Cooper Band might be better than H.I.M. where one would find on their albums everything from trashy sleaze rock to juju rhythms while Alice pulled out a hundred different characters, finding a popular climax in "Billion Dollar Babies". ERS takes the same approach with Neon Gas. He retains the adrenaline glam rush of Fixer but puts it through a crawl of a songwriter's psyche with all the ups & downs that would normally be found on a psychiatrist's couch. ERS has had schizophrenia tossed his way to label his music, which, as I have greatly struggled to find ways to describe the cornucopia he's created, I must embarrassingly agree with. Though, it's not a schizophrenia that makes your head spin but more akin to multiple personalities marching like soldiers on parade. The best example is the first track "Chemical Marketplace" which opens with a fast build-up of layers from a drums alternating bars while duetting with a simple two note guitar riff to a touch of distortion to a chorused scream leading into a juggernaut that sets the stage for the rest of the album as the listener never knows what to expect next with ERS while the energy never lets up. Further, ERS uses the full range of his voice from talking to screaming & while he might rely on the verse-chorus-verse-bridge-chorus standard format subtle changes in singing never let the songs get boring or predictable. Its a rare case where the vocals match the energy of the music ... yet there's enough repetition so its not too ... schizophrenic. One repetition that does come through and repeated on numerous songs sadly, is a reliance on higher pitched screams for the chorus. ERS describes his music as "schizo/rock opera/hobo-chic", with the rock opera being a particularly under-looked aspect to the music both in terms of style, feeling & the loose theme of ERS's psyche. The fact that plans are in the works to release his journal - non-musical journal that is - recounting the making of the album shows the hidden rock opera behind the glam.

Fixer ~ Before The Sun (album review) ... Get your fix before the sunrise!

Style: hard rock, glam
Label: Ricker Hill
Year: 2008
Home: New York City

Members: Evan R. Saffer ~ vocals
Tommy Zamp ~ guitar
Adam James ~ bass
Rev Swank ~ drums

 

You won’t find this band on Wikipedia … not yet anyways … but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Jim Morrison-reminiscent lead singer Evan Saffer, with his nearly perfect imitation Ozzy stare, on the cover of some teen girlie magazine in the near future. It’s not often that a hard rock reviews mentions good looks but after I saw Fixer open for Lordi & Lizzy Borden the obvious sex appeal is an important part of the Fixer deal. Luckily, you don’t have to like boys to like these boys. They've got the chops, too. This is an up & coming band I'm happy to endorse & review. If Pearl Jam met Hinder & threw in some Skid Row power ballads this could potentially be the resulting onslaught … a good hard-rockin’ album by a band that lets the fun they have on stage carry into their arrangements. A few tracks verge a bit too much on commercialism & dip into the trend of group vocals that created the power ballad so long ago, keeping Fixer firmly in the alternative & hard rock scene with some grunge influence thrown in, but when they rock they do so with abandon that makes up for a desire to present a commercial edge, which no band should be faulted for wanting. Ricker Hill is an independent label but don't be surprised if the next review they get here is a via a major label. Their bound for success. If you like Dysfunctional By Choice or a band you can sing with then check out Fixer & check out a a live show too!

(originally written for the Roman Midnight Music newsletter Issue 1, Summer 2009, expanded for blog)