This Moment in Black History - Midwesterncuttalistick

Late one night, a garage rock band had just finished their set at some hole in the wall club and decided to go out for drinks. At the same time, an art-punk band just finished their set in an art gallery and also went for drinks. Very serendipitously they ended up at the same bar. The rockers mocked the art-students ‘cocktails’ while the art-students turned their noses up at the rockers ‘beers.’ Eventually the situation came to a head and the two bands were entwined in fatal battle, leaving exactly half of each band dead. Fortunately the remaining members decided to pick up the pieces and formed ‘This Moment in Black History.’ With equal parts rock'n'roll savagery and art school intellect, TMIBH has created a truly amazing debut album. So where do these new purveyors of cool chic rock come from? L.A.? New York? London? Nope… Cleveland, Ohio. TMIBH’s lead singer/synth man Christopher Kulcsar (CK1) brings a Datson-esque howl, but with touches of punk over pronunciation and drawl. This allows him to sound completely demented but also rather profound. Bass player Michael D’Amico provides some of the tightest driving bass lines you’ll ever her from someone on their freshman effort. Guitarist Buddy Akita throws thrash-art riffs with some really cool tinges of rock, and drummer Lamont Thomas gives the band a hardcore edge. The content varies from songs about girls and clubs on the one hand and robots and apathy on the other hand. My favorite song on the CD, "Paint Me a Picture," is a sort of Nada Surf’s "Popular" but barely crossing the one minute mark (1.18) and dealing with an artist who isn’t concerned as long as he and everyone he knows are alright. Midwesterncuttalistick came as a shock to me. I was expecting just a rock by numbers album, but what I got could very well be in my top 5 albums of the year. The depth TMIBH express on this CD is really promising, especially considering it’s their debut… and they’re from Cleveland of all places. [www.versioncityrecords.com]