{"id":7139,"date":"2013-06-12T08:00:11","date_gmt":"2013-06-12T15:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/?p=7139"},"modified":"2013-06-11T14:33:33","modified_gmt":"2013-06-11T21:33:33","slug":"new-music-revue-alice-in-chains-chris-picco","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/2013\/06\/12\/new-music-revue-alice-in-chains-chris-picco\/","title":{"rendered":"New Music Revue: Alice in Chains, Chris Picco"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Alice-in-Chains-The-Devil-Put-Dinosaurs-Here\"<\/a>Alice In Chains
\nThe Devil Put
\nDinosaurs Here<\/i>
\n(Universal Music)
\n4\/5<\/p>\n

I love that odd album title, and I love the fact that these guys are proving, like Soundgarden and Pearl Jam, that they\u2019re not just grunge revival (ugh, sorry \u2018bout that). Instead, AiC are as heavy as ever, exploring a sound here on their second album with vocalist William DuVall that is as firmly rooted in dirgey, doom-y metal as ever.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s proven it by now, but it should be reiterated: DuVall has done an excellent job at replacing the deceased Layne Staley behind the mic.<\/p>\n

The CD is dark but not inaccessible, as the soaring chorus of opener \u201cHollow\u201d proves. The band manages to sound prickly and unlikable while maintaining a toe-tapping, well, likeability.<\/p>\n

At the core of the band\u2019s sound, once past those depresso vocals that just make you never want to stand upright again, are the riffs. Check out the main one on \u201cStone.\u201d That, in a nutshell, is what loud guitar-based music is all about, and the reason why, even though this band was lumped into a time and a place pretty hard, they\u2019re crafting timeless tunes, on this album just as good as they ever did, if not a bit more obtusely and off the commercial path. More power to \u2019em for that.<\/p>\n

-Greg Pratt<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
\"a2452260031_10\"<\/a>Chris Picco<\/div>\n

The Beach
\n(LDR Music)
\n3.5\/5<\/p>\n

Recorded live in Newfoundland (hey, wait, no you don\u2019t know what it sounds like!), this acoustic singer\/songwriter guy has a bit of indie swagger, country drawl, and some maritime fiddle accompaniment. But the maritime vibe only lasts for the first song.<\/p>\n

This 32-minute disc is warm and inviting, with a production sound that brings out every wonderful inconsistency and human touch, while Picco\u2019s voice is likable in its plaintive way.
\nPicco\u2019s strength lies in his balladeering: the sobre \u201cYou\u2019re So Real\u201d trounces all over \u201cReal Estate Man,\u201d which comes across not as Dylan homage but as Dylan parody. The title track packs an amazing, lonely punch.<\/p>\n

The songs will stick with the listener, best exemplified in opener \u201cRodeo Girl,\u201d but found all throughout this disc, which would work just as good on a warm summer night as it would a dreary, wet morning. From one coast to ours, this is Canadian music. It\u2019s not timeless, but Picco has the goods to keep making above-average tunes that will appeal to many.<\/p>\n

-Greg Pratt<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Alice In Chains The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here (Universal Music) 4\/5 I love that odd album title, and I love the fact that these guys are proving, like Soundgarden and Pearl Jam, that they\u2019re not just grunge revival (ugh, sorry \u2018bout that). Instead, AiC are as heavy as ever, exploring a sound here on their […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":7140,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,104],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7139","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts","category-june-12-2013"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t