Published on Dec 15, 2000
Sometimes, it doesn’t pay for me to read the liner notes to an
album. Take
Oh Well, the independent debut from Austin, Texas-based The
Mentals. Lead guitarist/vocalist Steve Tobin was working on these
songs in 1998, and had even booked out professional studio time,
when he was involved in a car accident that nearly killed him. It
would be nearly one year before Tobin could play guitar again, so
he has offered up this collection of “live in the studio”
efforts.
After reading that, how could I dare to say something negative
about Tobin and The Mentals? Well, call me the devil or whatever
you wish, but
Oh Well is a portrait of a group in development, showing
some strong points but often revealing their flaws.
Now, I’m not going to knock the production quality of this disc,
for the simple reason that Tobin admits in the liner notes that he
was going for a very raw sound. This he has indeed captured – and I
tend to think this is the right sound for a band like The
Mentals.
On first listen to
Oh Well, you might sit back and wonder if you didn’t pop in
Nirvana’s debut
Bleach by mistake. The two bands have more in common than
you think: power trios, punk-influenced alternative music not
afraid to plow their own paths, and singers who aren’t exactly
top-notch but get the job done.
If there were one major weakness to The Mentals, I’m sorry to
say it, but it would be Tobin’s vocals. There are times on
Oh Well where his vocals don’t even come close to being in
the key of the song he’s playing. If The Mentals were to bring in a
singer and allow Tobin to focus on his guitar playing, the stakes
would rise significantly for them.
It’s not that
Oh Well is without merit; if you follow the Nirvana thread,
I actually liked this disc more than I liked
Bleach. Tracks like “Virgin Mary,” “Valium,” “Home” and
“Bell Jar” all show that The Mentals were a band with promise in
1998. And while the down time was obviously not the best thing to
happen to Tobin, in the end it could prove to have benefits that
will be seen down the road.
I can’t say that
Oh Well is the kind of disc I’d want to leave in the CD
changer to join my permanent playlist, but the album does suggest
better things to come from this group. Here’s hoping that Tobin has
completely recovered from his injuries, and that The Mentals’s new
music proves me right.