Published on May 5, 2006
Of the dozens of bands around New York City, the duo
Object is one of the more interesting. It’s not that they are
particularly original — it’s too easy to play “spot the
alternative rock influence” — but they have a particular fire and
purpose in their rock that could potentially explode into something
great.
The band is Maria Schettino on drums and Eric Kramer
on guitar and vocals. New York University buddies, the two
instantly bonded and became jam partners, eventually scoring time
in the studio to record a disc in 2002. After playing several gigs
in the city, they were able to record this disc in 2005, although
their sometimes bass player has left and turned them into a duo
again.
Kramer tries to be many things, and throughout the
five songs succeeds at channeling Incubus, Nirvana, the Foo
Fighters and a bit of punk ethos. Granted, without a bass player
and with only five songs, this feels like an indie recording, but
with a little fine tuning it doesn’t have to. The band has that
kind of potential.
Schettino, in particular, drums her heart out more
than most modern rock drummers, and it’s refreshing to hear that
kind of energy in these decidedly downcast songs. Kramer is a
typical power-chord guitarist, but his success will be with his
voice (the lyrics are standard fare for the genre) — at times, he
sounds like a mix of Cobain and Brandon Boyd, evoking feelings of
nostalgia for those of us who grew up on alternative rock.
“Talk Too Much” sounds like Incubus circa
Science, but Kramer adds an occasional screaming chorus that
takes away from the song’s power; aggression doesn’t equal
screaming. “Walk Away” is uncomfortably close to Nirvana, but I’d
imagine most bands finding their feet sound like their influences
at first. Besides, of all the bands to emulate, Nirvana is still
the ideal for most bands today.
An interesting riff opens “The 8th Floor,” and the
whole song sort of glides by on a faint-but-detectable psychedelic
haze, sort of like STP meets Incubus in 1996. “Fooled” is a decent
opener, more interesting for what it suggests than how it turns
out. And the “epic” closer “Open Sores” has a sort of quiet menace
and the most emotional vocal from Kramer, though the pre-chorus
sounds a bit underdeveloped. The sleigh bells are a nice addition,
though.
Object has a ways to go before truly capturing their
own sound, but at the moment there are no bands that can truly
emulate Nirvana and Incubus and still sound this good. With a bass
and some production, the band will find their sound, and with time
they will find their voice. In short, The Mirror World may
not be original, but it’s promising.