CD Reviews: They Never Sleep- Mother Nature Sings Her Lullaby
I could easily start off going on and on about They Never Sleep and their band member's storied and historic musical pasts, with the likes of the Godbullies, Thrall, Inside Out ect... but that might suggest I was predisposed to liking them before I heard them. Was I intrigued by the thought of Mike Hard ,Karen Neal ( aka Queen Bee) David B.Livingstone,and Adam Berg performing and recording together? You bet I was .Especially after seeing them live.
But bands don't always succeed in capturing energy, groove, and in this case psychosis on record as they do on the stage.
They Never Sleep blast that outta my brain from the get-go - from the first rumbling of Neal's bass and the cascade of notes from Livingstone's guitar on Heaven In Hell. Surfing the waves of fire and brimstone thanks to the groove laid by Berg deft drumming on Gasoline. I Cant Forget is a fuzz laden trip down the highway of addiction. Just For You is really where this CD gets strange in the best way possible. "I killed them all, just for you" Hard barks out in the line followed by some soft melodic background vocals by Ms Neal that just raises those little hairs on the arm. Think Kim Deal backing Charlie Manson (If he could actually sing).
Rain slows the pace of of the music, but it's no less menacing, and the vocals are backed beautifully by Livingstone's flowing axe lines. Soundtrack for the return of the Beast. Never Enough is probably as close to a standard rocker as you'll find on this record. That's not slagging it either, I just mean it straight out rocks, complete with ooohs an ahhs on the backgrounds.Lyrically it rips too, with Hard delivering a lament I think anybody who's ever been in a relationship with some greedy bloodsucking _________ (fill in blank) can identify with. Keep on Running continues the frenzied pace and the marked difference here is Mike Hard's are sung without his trademark growl,spit,bark, guttural style.Its a difference that suits the song and showcases a style I have not heard from him before.
No Guts is a song that when I heard live caused Bobby Balboa (Black Knots) to remark to me "That is the bass tone from hell"! It's no different here, with the song clearly driven to the insane asylum by Neal and Berg. Give Me Reason is a death march to your self sacrifice, Livingstone providing the razor with six strings to do it with. Morning Dew, the last song on Mother Nature Sings Her Lullaby, takes all the things I like the best about this cd and ends it with distortion, thunderous bass lines, hypnotic drums, eerie background vocals and a crazed front man.
This CD has beat the crap outta me, pummeled me, and along with just a few other bands in and around the mid-west reminds me that true, raw rock n fukkin roll is still rearing the ugly dangerous side of itself, and bands like They Never Sleep is what attracted most of us to rock anyway. Mother nature Sings Her Lullaby gives you back that unpredictability and "whats going to happen next?" feel that only a few these days have mastered.
Steve King, who mastered this CD, described it as "one scary record". I couldn't agree more.
