Music Reviews

Ancient Chinese Secret

Caveat Emptor

Slap A Ham

This is a bit different… Chris Dodge of Spazz on bass, vocals, keys, and ring modulator (?); Lydia Dodge on vocals and organ; Matt Martin on drums and keys. The basic foundation seems to be power violence, but it’s all crazy askew. Lydia’s spoken/sung vocals are the first surprise, but the music takes a lot of different approaches as well. No guitar, so the bass carries the melody. The manic attacks are let up frequently for all sorts of other tastes and feels to be incorporated. The lack of guitar takes a little adjusting to, but it works. There are also some songs that are farther down the path of weird, with more of an atmospheric, textural quality rather than hardcore blast. This is a pretty diverse recording, but it all works within the crazy energy context. It just has an odd feel to it.

Slap A Ham, P.O. Box 420843, San Francisco, CA 94142-0843


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