9 Volt

Nine Volt (Crash)
by Jamie Kiffel

Although I am always in search of music that will activate my body’s natural psychoactive drug supply, I am not past appreciating rhythmy, well-produced, meat and potatoes rock tunes. Such is 9 Volt, which will undoubtedly provide excellent steering-wheel drumming basslines for latenight cruisers and Taco Bell-bound suburban kids everywhere. There is a good deal of angst here, complete with nearly-deep lyrics such as the announcement that “there are three sides to every lie” (in “3 Sides”) and “my mouth is dry/ it quenches every need” (in “Altitude”). Some lyrical credence is compromised as the phrase “come runnin'” is used several times throughout the disc, but it is easy to overlook this in favor of the easily air-guitarable and head-bopping tunes that comprise the majority of this record. I categorize this alongside Candlebox, Collective Soul, Moist, and possibly Soul Asylum: like these bands, although with its roots in metal, it takes example from Guns ‘N’ Roses and even Metallica, who began to soften and tune their ragged edges as the 1990s rolled around, finding new and increasingly catchy use for the power chord progression. We find herein some scratchy-throated, constipated vocal effects, consistent energy, the occasional wah-wah pedal, and several typos in the liner notes. A noteworthy portion of our nation’s youth will undoubtedly spend countless hours blissfully attempting to listen to this one backwards. Being that everyone has CDs now, however, this may actually necessitate some technological exploration, indirectly rerouting an entire generation of young slackers toward careers in mechanical engineering. (And that, my young friends, has just been a brief lesson in political writing. With the right wording, you can tool any idea in the world around such that it communicates a message of heightened education, drug awareness, or environmental aid. See our government for details.)
(4025 E. Chandler Blvd. #70B-3 Phoenix, AZ 85048)