Did I dislike any of the songs? No, not really. But did I like any of the songs? Again, no, not really.
The curiously named The Stripe Stripe Fiasco are a four piece made up of vocalist/keyboard player Rachel King, vocalist/guitarist Rich Schwering, bassist Bobby Barbeau and drummer Joel Monroe. Hailing from Denver, the equally oddly named ‘Teeth’ is the band’s debut album, with their only previous recorded work being an EP. To add to my bemusement, the artwork is done in such a way that both myself and my Reviews Ed thought the band were called Teeth and the album was called ‘The Stripe Stripe Fiasco’. Either way I thought it was weird!
The title track begins proceedings and is a jangly guitar and bass driven grower, before the modern rock of ‘Hero’ raises the stakes. Having two singers, one male, one female, leads to lots of swapping and interchanging of vocal parts. Rich Schwering handles lead vocals here and reminds me of Phil Oakey, which I’m afraid is not a compliment because I never liked The Human League. The band’s bio states they are inspired by the “anything goes rock and roll attitude of the Velvet Underground and Andy Warhol”. They also state they are ‘skitzRock’ which is grandly explained as a brand new type of genre defying music. That’s kind of true, there are parts of the album that are funky, jazzy, psychedelic, rocky, punky, yet are never any of those for long. For instance, take the gentle piano led ‘Diary’ which then is joined by a funky bass before crunchy guitars and modern rock chords come in. It could be seen as exciting, or confusing. I guess it depends on your view. Mine is, I’m afraid, the latter.
Bottom line – did I dislike any of the songs? No, not really. I like Rachel King’s voice as much as I dislike Rich Schwering’s and the band’s competence when it comes to their instruments is in no doubt. But did I like any of the songs? Again, no, not really.
James Gaden
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