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I really like this record. In a year filled by mostly stale releases, The Stryder returns with "Jungle City Twitch," an album that is as funky as its title. And by "funky," I do mean very good. The band went through a line-up shift in 2001, which left me skeptical about any new releases. Drummer Scottie Redix moved from behind the skins to guitar, and the band acquired a new drummer, Durijah Lang. Anyone who has heard the first record would say that Scottie leaving the drumkit would be a huge mistake, since he is a phenomenal player, but Durijah more than compensates for his move.

The album itself is also a shift for the band. It relies less on the pop-punk style that the first album was rooted in, and moves more toward a laid-back, chilled-out, funky style. This is what makes the album fun. It makes you want to smile and nod your head, and nothing in the vast independent music scene has made me want to do that for a long while. "Jungle City Twitch" is definitely an improvement in the lyrics category for The Stryder, whose first release suffered from slighly cheesy lyrics in some songs. With guitarists Peter and Scottie taking care of all the words on this disc, the cheese factor has almost dissappeared. In fact, the lyrics are actually very well-written. They only get kinda silly at one point in the song "Missing Without You," which other than these few lines, is my favorite song on the album. The offending lines read, "...and when there's a hole in my head, you kiss me instead....the sky won't turn red, when you're in the bed.."

The opening track sets the tone and pace for the disc, blending a head-bobbing funky sound with rocking guitars and harmoniusly layered vocal tracks. It also displays the musical talent of the band. The new drummer is amazing, and gives Scottie's drumming on the first disc a run for its money. The guitars are big, and seem to melt into one another. The clean parts are saturated with phase shifters and thumping bass, and the rocking parts are filled with distorted guitars that seem to blend nicely. A surprise for me on the album was the soulful singing. Check out the vocal work on "Missing Without You."

"Jungle City Twitch" flows nicely, opening with several solid tracks that rock and groove at the same time, then it slows down for a ballad or two, and then ends with "Circular Highway," a song that seems to feature drummer Durijah. The other three members of the band fall into a groove while the drummer basically solos for ten minutes. The extended jam seems to be meant to make the disc a little longer, but it doesn't hurt the overall effect of the album.

If you're bored with most of the albums that have come out recently, give the new Stryder LP a listen. It might surprise you, whether you've heard the band before or not.






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    Posted by shane on 2002-08-27 14:37:40
    My Score:

    "...and when there's a hole in my head, you kiss me instead....the sky won't turn red, when you're in the bed.."

    are you fucking serious?! ha ha ha! ah, man... good stuff indeed...

    Posted by Anonymous on Monday, August 26, 2002 at 5:54 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    I really liked the last CD, but the lyrics were some of the cheesiest crap I'd ever heard on some songs. I'm glad it's gotten better. This CD is real good

    Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, August 25, 2002 at 7:50 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    I bought this album with really high expectations. I don't like it all that much, but it isn't bad. Maybe it just needs to grow on me...?

    Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, August 21, 2002 at 9:25 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    personally I think masquerade in the key of crime is alot better. Maybe once I give this some more time it wil grow on me, at least I'm hoping.

    Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, August 21, 2002 at 12:04 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    I love this record.

    Check out songs like New Enemy and This Is The Time (evr site).
    Jungle City Twitch is really f**ckin good.

    Locktheopendoor@aol.com

    Posted by astrovince on 2002-08-20 19:37:01
    My Score:

    I did mention "circular highway."

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, August 20, 2002 at 4:50 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    ok, so the guitar work isn't bad, they tried to put as much into this as possible, from what i know (friends of mine are friends with the stryder), but if you haven't noticed, the singing on most of it is actually pretty bad. they'll pick the wrong notes for the harmonies and it'll just sounds completely nasty, also the song on the end was definitely a waste of an extra 9 minutes or so, the drummer is excellent, he plays some amazing stuff, but alot of the times it was just a goodbye sky harbour rip off, in case any of you have ever heard JEW's clarity album, you know, before they were a household name. i'm not calling myself perfect, but i know when something doesn't sound as good as it could. i know some people like to call this the way bands sing from their area, but to me that's just an excuse to half ass things.

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, August 20, 2002 at 4:28 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    Good thing Wilco didn't release a phenomenon this year or Coheed and Cambria didn't slap us in the face with their pseudo-emo and it sure is a good thing that Cursive didn't lay down one of the best songs on Saddle Creek ever. Its not like Bright Eyes didn't put out a record to put him on the map as a conductor of a super sad orchestra. Whatever happened to the Flaming Lips anyway? They should have put out a poignant album that was stimulating and soothing at the same time.

    You're right, this year has been horrible for music.

    whendovescry.

    Posted by evildeadalive on 2002-08-20 15:52:59
    My Score:

    Commenting on your first statement: I think it's been a pretty damn good year actually.

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, August 20, 2002 at 2:40 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    I havent' heard all of it but from the 3 or 4 songs I've heard it's very good, getting away from the saves the day style they used to be was a good move

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, August 20, 2002 at 12:25 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    I love this album, when I read the alt press review (they gave it a five out of ten) I thought they were on crack. It's good to see I am not the only person that likes this album because some of my friends don't like it either.

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, August 20, 2002 at 12:19 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    scott, wheres my less than jake review???

    chris corradini

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, August 20, 2002 at 10:58 AM (EDT)
    My Score:

    How can you review this cd and not even mention "Circular Highway". I mean it has about 12 minutes of intrumental. If "Circular Highway" was the only song on the cd, it would still be better than "Masquerade In The Key Of Crime". Come on buddy, good review otherwise

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, August 20, 2002 at 9:37 AM (EDT)
    My Score:

    I don't understand how people would even compare this to Weezer. It doesn't sound like them at all. This album is really good.

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, August 20, 2002 at 1:52 AM (EDT)
    My Score:

    I agree. this cd is rockin like no other right now. I downloaded it way back a few months ago on audiogalaxy and people on there were talking about how it sounded like weezer. no way, sorry. This stuff is original. Now people are talking and saying this is the stryders attempt at becoming commercial. If someone could introduce me to a radio station that would play this all the time, i would surely be interested. the short and long of it is, this cd is fucking awesome. everyone should check it out, just like he said whether you've heard the stryder or not. you'll be surprised. it's something totally different.

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