E.town Concrete

The Second Coming (Triple Crown)
by Tim Den

Holy shit… Now this I didn’t expect. E.town Concrete had me convinced from the first two tracks of the record – heavy, pounding metal chugs slithering into melodic guitar/bass harmonies with plenty of clean guitar and intricate pickings. With a careful ear for dynamics and mood handling, vocalist Anthony Martini bounces from a grotesque growl to streetwise rap without blinking an eye or messing up the continuity of the songs. When he spits fire, he burns everything in sight. And when he goes straight-up hip hop (beginning of “Dirty Jer-Z”), it almost makes me slightly interested in the genre (now that’s saying a lot!). These young ‘uns are ferocious, infectious, well-organized, and unpredictable enough to pull off the “tough street kids” shtick without sounding cliché. I wouldn’t be surprised if they become huge. This is a great, great record.
(331 West 57th St. PMB 471 New York, NY 10019)