DEATH ON WEDNESDAY
Songs to ____ To (Sidecho)
Reviewed by Erick Mertz

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"Songs to ____ To?"

Maybe the guys in So-Cal's Death in Wednesday mean to fill in that open blank with the word "drive" or perhaps "bowl." It's open ended and thusly, the audience's call, right?

Songs to Fly To?

No where in the liner notes do they elaborate on what the intended purpose of their music is, but it seems pretty simple once the album passes through your speakers:

Songs to Walk Dogs To?

The sneering nasally vocals come courtesy of Nate Lawler, often sounding like a khaki clad Banana Republic ambassador to the Misfits or Social Distortion catalogs. He's got that plaintive feeling, begging his listeners to feel for his plight, and it is overwhelming. We want him to get that break he pines for in "Simple Life" and to see him fall in "Fall Down," maybe only to prevent him from singing about it any more.

That might sound harsh, but Lawler's belly-aching is the most effective element that Death on Wednesday has going for it. He sounds like that friend that everyone knows, has some things to work out. You want him to keep calling you, so you can be there when he finally gets things straight.

Songs to Whine To.

© 2003 - Erick Mertz