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Halfcocked
The Last Star
(Megatronic/
DreamWorks
Records)
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Words by Jen Kriesel
Bonanzaradio.com
July, 2001
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Halfcocked
The Last Star
This major label debut from Boston's Halfcocked
is chick rock at last done right. With three women and two guys,
their band name is almost a stunning pun for their (ahem) "member"ship,
and there's plenty here - in lyrics and band attitude - that's
sexy and hot as hell.
The album as a whole is truly refreshing straight ahead rock -
a fully blended mixture of metal, punk and pop with rhythm and
enough licks to get to the center of a Tootsie pop and then wash
it down with a whiskey shot. The standard guitar/bass/drums arrangement
is nothing remarkable, but the playing is top notch, the production
is rock-solid, and the vibe is definitely rock-out. All too often
female rock vocalists are spun either in the sugar-coated pop
starlet direction or else transformed into feral, angry screaming
banshees. On "The Last Star," however, Sarah Reitkopp's
voice is loud and clear and kicking your ass without having to
screech or whimper. Her vocals are crystal clear, her talent obviously
huge. There are great swags of Pat Benatar, pockets of Debby Harry,
fringes of Ann and Nancy Wilson, and sequins of Gwen Stefani in
her vocal wardrobe, yet she definitely has her own special style.
She belts without yelling, purrs without simpering, is powerful
without just being pissed off. It's nice to hear a true rock singer,
not just a female vocalist.
Produced by Ulrich Wild, "The Last Star" is the debut
release on Megatronic Records, a new imprint label at DreamWorks
headed up by Spider One of Powerman 5000. Though both bands are
from Boston and fit into the hard rock genre, Halfcocked is definitely
more melodic than the harder-edged Powerman sound. Both bands
deliver solid hooks and incredibly catchy tracks with smart lyrics.
The Halfcocked handclaps rival those of the Go-Gos, and the guitar
hooks give Cheap Trick true honor, but the drums are unquestionably
heavy-duty.
Though the first radio single and video from the album are for
the track "I Lied," songs like "Always," "Drive
Away," "Held Under," and "Thanks For The Ride"
are supercatchy rolling tracks that will stick in your head no
matter how hard you bang it. "Over" and "Gun For
Hire" are heavier, darker, with less pop influence - more
Joan Jett than Susanna Hoffs. All the song topics center pretty
much around sex, relationships, gender roles and empowerment themes
- they'd be excellent soundtracks to any John Hughes movie of
the new millenium.
"The Last Star" should be heavy rotation car listening
all summer long. If Halfcocked can dish the same ka-pow onstage
as they do on disc, they'll be one helluva live act to savor.
The album hits stores July 10.
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