China Drum

Self Made Maniac (Beggars Banquet)
by Scott Hefflon

Is there such a thing as an album that’s too good? It almost makes you distrust your own judgment, or wonder what kind of devilish deal the band had to make to consistently tap into that elusive “something.” Self Made Maniac does, at times, stumble across its own perfection. But perhaps that’s merely a reflex mechanism because nothing can be perfect. China Drum, an interesting but, until this point, not crucial band, have come into their own in a big way. With all the catchiness of alternative radio fodder, you’d think the songs would start to grate on your nerves after a while. Either that or you’d be able to pick out the lush hit single amidst the filler tracks. Even a good song can leave no lasting impression. But song after song of Self Made Maniac can be listened to, absently hummed while doing something else, or dissected by a music reviewer who’d rip the stuffing out of it if he could only find a loose thread to start yanking. This album is beautiful. In ways that are more instinctive and subtle than easily definable.