Published on Oct 6, 2003
“Plowed” was one of the best rock videos I’ve ever seen. I never
knew of a band named Sponge before that. I didn’t care. I wanted to
buy
Rotting Piñata straight away. Before I could, “Molly”
was released. What a lovely song it was. Now, I really had to get
me a copy of
RP. I still did not have any clue about Sponge. I still
didn’t care. I went ahead, bought me the CD of
RP, and loved it. What a fantastic contribution to rock
music. I have listened to the album a lot of times ever since, and
loved it to the maximum effect. I still don’t know about Sponge,
except for that they are a five-piece band, and that they have an
album titled
Rotting Piñata, one copy of which I am proudly
listening to, as I write these kudos for it. I still don’t
care.
This album could be described as a “grunge” or a “punk” album;
it kind of fits into both the genres comfortably. Though it has
strong influences of punk in its style,
RP, unlike most punk albums, is quite melodious. The album
has a good balance of anger and sweetness. Also, unlike other punk
albums, this one is musically detailed and has a quite polished
sound. The lead singer, (I gather, his name is Vinnie, as is
mentioned in the CD booklet) has a strong part to play in making me
shower this album with praises. Punk is passionate. Punk singers
have always been passionate. Vinnie sings with conviction and
passion, heart and soul, with feelings just pouring out freely
through a very gruff voice. How characteristic of punk.
Angry, yet within its limits,
RP, is quite a fantastic disc. Almost the whole of the
fifty-something minutes is pleasurable to the utmost. Highlights
include “Giants,” “Neenah Menasha,” “Plowed” and “Molly.” There is
also a 11th hidden song, which is quite different from the rest of
the album. A brilliant song, it has Vinnie singing with great
ambiguity. The vocals are muffled to the point that it is
impossible to figure out the words. It has the feel of what Cocteau
Twins might be if they went rock, with a replacement male singer. I
sincerely wish this doesn’t happen, though.