Grade

Headfirst Straight to Hell (Victory)
by Tim Den

The music has gotten better, even without the input of now-departed founding member/main songwriter Greg Taylor (who now spends all of his time in the band Jersey), but the vocals still kill it. If there was only a way to erase the vocals from this CD, I’d be blasting it all the time. There’re enough intricate, complex guitar lines here to satisfy any Grade fan, but Jesus: One listen to Kyle Bishop’s “the bodyyyyyyyyyyyyy” (wavering, off-key, stretched-out notes) at the beginning of “In the Wake of Poseidon” and you’ll be running for your ear plugs.
(346 N. Justine St., Ste. 504 Chicago, IL 60607)