The Scarecrows are an Ottawa band that has been together since 2000. Made up originally of founding members: Ger Madden (;ead vocals, rhythm guitar), Leon Howse (lead guitar, vocals), J.P. Proulx (bass guitar, vocals) and Duane Chusroskie (drums, percussion, vocals), which is the line-up for this album. They have had a change since this release. Leon resigned in December of 2003. It wasn’t long before Dan Faubert came in to replace him (Jan. 2004).

Playing a hard rock style that quickly brings to mind a mix between Kiss and a lethargic Metallica, Scarecrows do not pander to the faint of heart. The star of the band (and prolific musician and collaborator) Ger Madden, has an astounding voice that matches this style of music perfectly. His voice is similar to Gene Simmons and reminds me of another local singer from Carlton Place. If we flashback 10 years, you may recall this album:

Now renamed Shunt (Sinister Sam is the moniker of an American band so they changed their name), Sinister Sam and Trudge (1994 – Independent SNR 001) was a healthy kick in the pants for Ottawa and the surrounding area. The lead singer Bob Cave and Ger Madden have a lot in common vocally. It is nice to see that the nation’s capital is well represented in the field of hard rock troubadours.

Release starts with two songs, “Burnin’ in the Night” and “Rock ‘n’ Roll All Over You” which are perfect songs for radio play. Both under 5 minutes long and with a chorus that are great to growl along to, these songs would not sound out of place on the Bear. But out of all the songs, “I Walk Alone” best represents the skill of the band. This longer song allows all the musicians to participate as Ger’s voice isn’t central. There are sections where guitar and rhythm section are at the fore and it makes it a great listen. The tempo is the slowest of all the 6 songs which allows even more attention to be paid to chord changes and drum beats from the listener.

Where this album stumbles is in its recording and song writing. Almost from the beginning, this album shows its mistakes. “Burnin’ in the Night”, as the back of the CD indicates, is a 4:31 long song. You wonder what they were doing (esp. Mike Krawzyck who mixed and engineered the album) when the 3:23 mark arrives and Ger’s voice is cut off mid lyric. The CD jumps to “Rock ‘n’ Roll All Over You” leaving you wondering wear the last minute or so of the previous song went to.

Ger Madden wrote or co-wrote (with Leon or J.P.) all the songs on this album. So the sub-par lyrics in many of the songs will have to rest mostly on his shoulders. With the experience and concentration he spends on writing (he is quoted on the Scarecrows website as stating, "I enjoy performing live," says Ger, "but I prefer writing and arranging songs. It's something of a craft for me and not to be taken lightly."), it is surprising that he falls into that trap that bad poets are famous for.

The trap I mention has no official name (that I know of) but anyone who has tried their hand at poetry will know what I am speaking about. When writing a poem that rhymes (as lyrics to a song usually do) it is easy to compose the first line. If we speak of a 4 line stanza, where the second and fourth line rhyme it is quite difficult to write the fourth line. You begin well and then scramble to find a word for the end of the stanza that rhymes with the second line. When this is forced it lowers the beauty of any rhyme. Not just limited to a stanza of this sort, it can occur with any style of rhyme. A three line stanza where line one and three rhyme or a limerick where line one, two and five rhyme are other examples where this difficulty can occur.

Here are two of the easiest to recognize on Release:

“…won’t give in or give out,
Until you are with me
And there is no doubt.”
- Song 1

“So you think you can tell me to shut up
You’ve got another thing comin’
I’m gonna ram this down your throat
Verily you’ll be hummin’”
-Song 2

There are other examples throughout the CD but these where the first two I picked up on. Ger’s vocals during these times also reveal his lack of confidence in his lyrics as he sings them half-heartedly. It makes them difficult to decipher. As the album does not come with song lyrics, I may have misunderstood a few of the words (‘verily’ being the most difficult to give with confidence).

Overall, this album is still an enjoyable listen, despite its faults. It is the music itself and the sound of Ger’s voice that are this album’s main draws; and the reason why I return to this album from time to time.

At the time of writing this review Scarecrows website does not offer merchandise for sale (http://www.geocities.com/scarecrowsband/index.html) and I have not seen distribution elsewhere. You can purchase this CD at a live show or try your luck by email at: scarecrowsband@hotmail.com.

Folk singer Linda Grenier releases her debut CD with Asphalt Ramblings. Although her name is the only one that appears on the front cover, Kevin Sullivan and Keith Glass should receive equal congratulations for putting out this gem of a CD.

Linda sang and wrote the lyrics and played the occasional harmonica with Kevin and Keith arranging and playing the other musical instruments (except drums adeptly played by Steve Foley).

The music is well played and the arrangements are remembered long after the CD stops and Keith and Kevin should be congratulated. But as this is a folk album, and with folk albums, it’s not the music (it is only there to compliment the singer), it’s not the voice (listen to Bob Dylan or Neil Young’s pipes to understand), but the lyrics and through them the meaning of the song, that makes or breaks an album of this sort.

Linda’s talent as a lyricist is sporadic. She can create a catchy tune (as “Train Wreck” and “Find the Kitchen” are) or come up with a brilliant idea for an original folksong (as “You’ll Get Through” demonstrates) but then tarnishes them somewhat with either a sub par rhyme or loss of focus.

There are two mistakes that even the greatest songwriters will invariably commit. It is not easy to write a superb song.

The first mistake is attempting to rhyme two lines of a song with the same word. Linda commits this poetical error on her first song “Train Wreck”. She attempts to rhyme “locomotive” with “motive”. This type of mistake makes the lyricist look amateurish as if her vocabulary is limited and she couldn’t find the right word. On this song it occurs in the chorus, which makes it even more noticeable with the added repetition.

The second mistake a songwriter can make and it becomes even more glaring than the first as it is easier to avoid (no rhyming involved) is the use of the same word twice in the same proximity. It makes the lyricist appear lazy as if the search for a different word; with a similar meaning is too much of a burden. Linda blunders in this way on “Carry On” with “time” or “times”, on “Find the Kitchen” with “kid”, and on “You’ll Get Through” repeatedly with “hard”.

When speaking of a lack of focus (I mentioned it earlier) we can look to “You’ll Get Through” for a good example. Where Gordon Lightfoot reached it with “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” and Bob Dylan did the same with “Lily, Rosemary And The Jack Of Hearts”, this song, if it was discovered by someone with more influence than yours truly, might of reached the pinnacle of folk idolatry if not for its schizophrenia. The song begins by telling the story of a woman who leaves Ireland (“Isle of Green”) to come to Canada with her nine kids and husband. The husband leaves her with the children. The song moves forward to speak of the oldest son, who at seven years of age, becomes the man of the house. At this point, the story loses its momentum and speaks of four kids (instead of the previous nine) and then mentions the father going off to war and a daughter who feels unloved. How the father re-entered the picture is beyond the inkling of this reviewer unless the story has changed to a different family, and if so, it is even more disjointed.

If we forget that a farm cannot be found “down the lane” (a line in the song), as a farm is located in the country, and fail to point out once more the repeated use of the word “hand”, we can easily realize the potential for greatness that this song could attain. You assume that it will relate the story of the mass emigrations of the Irish (to Canada) during the potato famine of 1845-1850 through the eyes of one family. This is a great subject for a Canadian folk song and it is a disappointment that it didn’t reach fruition with “You’ll Get Through”.

With the negativity that your reviewer has thus far extolled you might conclude that he has a dislike for Asphalt Ramblings. If you made this assumption you would be incorrect. Folk is a favourite genre of this reviewer and he has a tendency to become overcritical. For every flaw this CD occasionally displays, it has four other reasons to love it. Even with the minor flubs, all the songs so far mentioned have their charm and merits. With “Train Wreck” it’s the melody, with “Find the Kitchen” it’s the humour, and with “Carry On” it’s the shear force of will to get through hard times. There is a reason that these three songs have received radio play.

It is almost criminal that other songs off the album (especially “Plain Old Me” and “Way Down”) did not receive the same consideration. “Plain Old Me” is brilliant for its simplicity. Great folk songs either have a great story to tell or have a positive message to extol. “Plain Old Me” is of the latter category. To be comfortable in one’s own skin is the starting point on the journey toward happiness. “Plain Old Me” points out this truth.

“Way Down” (this reviewers favourite song of the CD) has Linda’s best lyrical writing. I will repeat a section below:

“But way down, way low down
Where only you can go
There is a place, there is a place
That nobody else knows
You must go there and find yourself
Feel the strength to go on
You will need to return there when
Everyone else is gone.”

If that is not lyrical beauty of the highest degree, your humble reviewer does not know what is!

You can purchase this CD, through Linda’s website at: www.lindagrenier.com. This listener (and now fan) highly suggests you do.

Remember those hair bands of the ‘80s? Those glam-rock or pop-rock bands? Bands such as Bon Jovi, Poison, Extreme, Slaughter or Helix? Add a bit of prog-rock influence à la Dream Theatre) and you will have the essence of Forbidden Dream.

Lead by the Houle Brothers, Chris (drums, lead vocals) and Phil (lead guitar), Forbidden Dream has the best elements of the 80’s popular rock. So much so, that any of the 11 tracks off this album could play along side any of the hits from the other bands mentioned and not seem out of place.

Filling out the rest of the band are Rick Ventovich on keyboards, Brad Fetter on bass and Ritchie Michaels on rhythm guitar.

The band has had some line up changes since their self-titled EP released in 2001. P. Syracuse has departed along with his guitar. Karl Jerome, the original bass player has nothing more than a guest appearance on “Never See Me Cry”.

Slightly Out of Frame updates the EP, redoing the three songs (“This Side of Hell”, “Running With Angels”, and “Never See Me Cry”), and adding eight more originals. Of the 11 tracks only two are ballads. (“Holding on” and “Never See Me Cry”). This pleases your reviewer immensely as his belief that the 80’s power ballad is the worse invention thrusted onto an unexpected male rock lover in the history of 20th century music.

Other than the aforementioned slow songs, there isn’t much to dislike about the band. The musicians are professional, Chris’s lead vocals remind you of Extreme’s Gary Cherone which both are top notch and the lyrics, although not awe inspiring, are competent and occasionally thought provoking.

Probably the largest problem with this band is they might of arrived twenty years too late. With the power of bands like Slipknot, the success of bands like Coldplay and the middle ground taken up by bands like Radiohead, there isn’t much of an audience for the reincarnation of 80’s mainstream rock of which Forbidden Dream represents.

You can obtain Forbidden Dream’s latest release through their website at: www.forbiddendream.net.

If you enjoy bands like Blue Rodeo or The Lowest of the Low you will enjoy Trevor Alguire’s group. Whether you can actually call this a band or just a vehicle for Trevor’s music in the guise of a group is hard to tell. Trevor wrote and produced the album (with a collaborating effort by Jake Von Wurden on the production and rewriting). No website for the band exists but all the information and ways to purchase the CD is on Trevor’s site (www.trevoraguire.com) which leads you to further to assume the solo CD premise.

But putting semantics aside, the music is played by Trevor (lead vocals, acoustic guitar), Dave Rahmer (lead guitar), Jake Von Wurden (bass & organ), and Mike St. Jean (drummer), with additional help from Victoria Peters (back up vocals), Jason Norman (bass), Jim Bryson (slide guitar), Kristin McCaig (back up vocals), Dianne Alguire (back up vocals), and Tom Thompson (pedal steel).

A highlight of this album is to hear Jim Bryson play piccolo, slide guitar and lead guitar. Bryson is starting to get some film and press, which is deserving.

Although the band fills out the sound of the album, Trevor could have just picked up his acoustic and played the same sort of songs without losing much in impact and enjoyment. Many solo artists get caught in a folk label or singer/songwriter label which hinders their exposure as certain venues are not set up for a solo act. This limits a solo artist to smaller clubs and performance venues. This could be the motivation for the moniker change and Trevor’s use of session musicians (if that is what they actually are) for this release.

If Trevor gets some attention to this album with the help of this review, both songs “Radio” and “Ever Since” are probably the songs that will get the spotlight. Both are great radio songs. The music, like Blue Rodeo’s, could grace a country, pop, or rock station.

Most songs on the album are mellow and contemplative. This is the type of music that doesn’t try to change anything or complain about the state of affairs of the world. It speaks of simple things like the melancholy feelings spread by a cloudy sky; or how friendship can make like easier to bear; or how life can pass you by if you take too much time deciding on a course of action.

If you have a veranda and a portable CD player, take your lawn chair out, sit down, and listen to this album when the sky is overcast and threatening rain. The coolness in the air and Trevor’s vocal and acoustic guitar will put you in a state of mild depression and self-reflection. It’s a great feeling and I highly suggest it.

As I mentioned earlier, you can purchase Trevor’s CD through his website at www.trevoraguire.com.

Although this band is not native to Ottawa, they do play here in our nation’s capital. They played at Zaphods on July 31st (2004) and I checked out the show and received a CD. This Toronto based band, which were originally a duo of guitarist Ian Worang and techno guru Jake Fairley, have morphed into a 4 piece. Jake left to pursue a career in Germany (becoming a popular electronics artist) so Ian got 3 acquaintances of his (Jon Drew, Sam Goldberg and Derek Tokar) to join. The motivation being that Paper Bag Records were still interested in a release by the band, so Ian got to work and Those Who Were Hung Hang Here is the result.

With a affinity to punk yet not totally leaving the styling of Jake behind, Uncut has released an album of distinction. Their sound is deep, repetitive, and somber. When you listen you feel like falling into a trance, as if you have been watching a swinging pocket watch. It’s smooth, brooding, and great for a fit of depression or an evening of pot-smoking.

The best track on the CD is their signature tune “Understanding the New Violence” but “Copilot” and “A Summer Day” is equally impressive. In fact the whole 11 track 38 minute album is worth a listen.

With comparisons to Joy Division and New Order (by the band itself and critics), Uncut is a great addition to the Toronto music scene and to the stable of great bands like Broken Social Scene that have signed with Paper Bag Records. Although Toronto and Vancouver invariably receive all the indie press (which pisses off guys from Ottawa such as myself), Uncut gives you reason why they sometimes deserve it.

You can purchase this CD through the Paper Bag Records website at: http://www.paperbagrecords.com.