Cinecyde Review - Part 2 of 2 - THE DETROIT DISH

The Detroit Dish

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Cinecyde Review - Part 2 of 2

Akron has Devo, Seattle's got Mudhoney, Minneapolis had Hüsker Dü, fortunately for Detroit we still have Cinecyde. Now I know what you might be thinking, that is some pretty heavy company I'm lumping Cinecyde in with. While that may be so, the fact that Cinecyde has been under the radar for over 30 years now is what really makes them so compelling. Over this time they learned how to flat out jam and write tightly woven punk tunes that have every surf rocker and Reverend Horton Heat wannabe this side of the Mississippi salivating. Take their latest release, Lezbo Vampires vs Al Qaida. Who else could write a album chocked full of tracks written about mythical b-horror movies? Only a couple of guys who run cult flick shop, Thomas Video, in Downtown Clawson by day and at night transform into psyco slick punk band Cinecyde, that's who.

With original artwork by local legend Glenn Barr, the album's title track; "Lezbo Vampires vs Al Qaida," would not only make a fantastic horror flick, but it may just be Cinecyde's best song to date. Though it is only two minutes in length, it's not short on power chords and hypnotic lyrics. After listening to this song countless times, I am left wondering exactly who would win in a battle of two of the world's most notorious super villains: Al-Qaida or lesbian vampires? The answer is, of coarse, lesbian vampires, as vocalist Gary Reichel simply states "Al-Qaida wants women kept in their place/ Lezbo Vampires gonna eat their face."

Further into the disc is my second favorite track, "He'll Be A Big Man," which tells the tale of an imposing overlord "who'll rule the world with iron gloves his way." The sing-along groove of "Your Graves Are Already Dug" is infectious, while "I Just Talked To A Ghost" about a revengeful spirit is just downright creepy. In comparison, the suspensfull thriller "I Won't Break" holds it own against current indie darlings Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, while the instrumental high noon whistle ode "A Good Day For A Gunfight" feels like it should have an accompany music video in line with Muse's groundbreaking "Knights of Cydonia".

All in all, this disc has flat out grown on me. At first Lezbo seemed a little overwhelming; there were just so many fast paced songs. But after three complete listens I found myself hooked. The only exceptions I would have are "Let Me Drink" and "Cave In;" they seem a little out of place with the rest of the disc's tone.

Now I'm not sure how one can go about obtaining this album since it's currently not on iTunes or Amazon, so you're just going to have to see them live or else risk missing hearing one of the best albums of 2008. Meanwhile, I'll be keep my fingers crossed for some hot-shot Hollywood producer drops in to give the members of Cinecyde a boat load of money to make a horror flick.

For more check out Cinecyd's myspace page

Comments:

They spelled Al-Qaeda wrong.

posted by

Anonymous : February 18, 2008 4:27 PM

Just looked it up on wikipedia it says that the first time it appeared in U.S. intelligence reports it was spelled Al-Qaida. It also goes on to say that "In Arabic, al-Qaeda (القاعدة al-qā'ida) has four syllables, and is pronounced [alˈqɑːʕɪda]. However, since two of the Arabic consonants in the name (the voiceless uvular plosive [q] and the voiced pharyngeal fricative [ʕ]) are not phones found in the English language, the closest naturalized English pronunciation is IPA: /ælˈkɑːiːdə//. More commonly, /ælˈkaɪdə/ and /ælˈkeɪdə/ are heard. Al-Qaeda's name can also be transliterated as al-Qaida, al-Qa'ida, el-Qaida, or al Qaeda"

posted by

Anonymous : February 18, 2008 8:26 PM