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FRICTION RECORDS VOLUME ONE
FRICTION RECORDS
Grand Rapids has never had a local music scene worth mentioning. For the most part, the last decade has produced Mustard Plug and a thousand hippie rock bands - everything else seems to go unheard or unappreciated, especially since the Reptile House went under. Finally, someone with organizational skills is attempting to round up actual talent, local and otherwise, and market interesting music in Grand Rapids. Friction Records is the rarest of indies - dealing in everything from hardcore to free jazz to electrofunk to avant pop. Enon, one of the few national acts, starts things off in delicious fashion. Their cover of the Rolling Stones "Off the Hook" is beautifully languid synth funk - somewhat of a departure from their typically rambunctious pop/punk fusion. More rewarding, however, are some of the local contributions. Superwow's "Bagatelle" is an absolutely mesmerizing three and a half minutes of man-made(!) drum and bass, while Birth's "Seek" reinvents the free jazz experimentations of Ornette Coleman or Eric Dolphy. There is, of course, some rock stuff, too. Halos For Martyrs play the emo role rather well, and Gavin Black shows up to represent the heavy heads with the rather frightening "Crawl Through." Mommy Won't Wake Up's "Cut And Paste (remix)" sounds inhuman, like a nervous breakdown of savagely digital proportions. It's like nothing you'll hear anywhere else. Kudos to Jeff VandenBerg and the rest at Friction for taking the time, making the effort, and improving life a bit in our tired little town.-AW
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