“weed”
Weed
Hard To Kill
Nettwerk
Weed, the duo of vocalist/programmer Cristina Handrabur and programmer Dan Handrabur, are the latest installment in a seemingly never-ending series of bands inspired by the formula of Portishead and Massive Attack with Liz Frazier. Just so you can get a handle on the peerage: Sneaker Pimps, Moloko, Lamb, Poe, Earthling, etc, etc. The point is, none of these bands have ever been able to better the standard of Dummy or Blue Lines , and thusly, all of these bands have about a one-year shelf life, and then nothingness. I bear Weed no malice or ill will, mind you, I just worry that once I submit this review, I will be turning this fragile band over to the firing squad that has claimed their predecessors. Why do guy/girl bands keep claiming Portishead as a main inspiration? Why don’t bands follow other guy/girl blueprints like the Creatures, the Human League, John Cale + Nico, or vampire-metallers Ancient? Just a quick aside, I apologize.
Weed do have one thing in their favor, their aesthetic is much more acid-psychedelic than other bands mentioned so far, taking more cues from Timothy Leary than John Barry. Witness the innumerable drug references in the lyrics (note: the band name honestly does not refer to marijuana) and my hands-down favorite line, “Heaven’s gate is open/ If only u could see,” which I pray is a name-check of my favorite Nike-wearing cult, Heaven’s Gate. So, yeah, think of Björk, Portishead, Leftfield, and Jefferson Airplane. In a word, trippy. God, I’ve always wanted to use that word with a straight face.
Nettwerk Records, 632 Broadway, Suite 301, New York, NY 10012; http://www.nettwerk.com
