The Urban Voodoo Machine - 'Sounds From The...' (D-Bag)
2/5
By: Kevin Molloy
With a name as ultimately clichéd as The Urban Voodoo Machine's, one would hope that the band would either live up to its varying suggestions (a disc-spinning, political-riffing Dr John, p'haps?), or else perhaps tread the ironic path and play dreamy acoustic ballads. Sadly, neither is the case here: tragic it may be, but the band live up to the mediocrity of their name in every way.
That's not to say they're doing a thoroughly bad job, it's just that there really is very little to commend here. UVM sound like Alice Cooper without the stimulation, musicianship or danger. At every lyrical opportunity frontman Paul-Ronney Angel seems far too anxious to offend with references to 'Mr Lucifer', or being a 'killer by my teens'. The whole 'we're satanic; really, we are' tact is taken a further step too far in the printed definitions of their genre on the sleeve (Satanic Blues anyone? Or maybe a Murder Ballad?)
No, what this band does possess is the same rock 'n' roll core which earlier 'Cooper efforts (whilst Alice Cooper in fact referred to the band, not the man) wrought into such a distinctive sound. And though 'Sounds From...' fails to unite its component musical parts, it does seem to suggest that this carnival of chestnuts might well exist much more happily on the stage than on record.
According to their website they enjoy playing with fire-eaters and strippers, and in that context it's easy to see why their slightly debauched chaos would be attractive. Unfortunately for UVM, however (and for ourselves), strippers cannot be satisfactorily reproduced by the typical CD player. And whilst that's the case, perhaps the chief attraction of this band is simply missing from the end result.
Artists in this article: The Urban Voodoo Machine
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