Rye Coalition - Curses
Curses sounds like a bad classic rock record that deserves very much to be forgotten
Rye Coalition are one of those few bands left that have been going for a fair share over a decade, and still haven't found fame, or fizzled out. The group is comprised of five friends since high school: singer Ralph Gregory Cuseglio, guitarist Jon Gonnelli, drummer David Anthony Leto, bassist Justin Angelo Morey, and second guitarist Herbert Wiley. The boys herald from the streets of Jersey City, New Jersey; and have been honing their sound for going on twelve years now. On the overall career release slate, Curses marks only as the Rye Coalition's fourth full-length studio effort; with the band averaging a release every three years or so. I personally find that ratio positively shocking; as virtually any band with half a shred of musicianship could thrash out cheesy classic/80's rock tunes like these by the truckload.
What is most shocking about this record is the producer. Take a quick look, and you'll soon learn that legendary Nirvana drummer, and current Foo Fighter, Dave Grohl was behind the soundboard during the recording process of Curses. In a way, it makes a weird kind of sense. Rye Coalition loosely resembles quality hard rockers Queens of the Stone Age, whom Grohl worked and toured with quite a bit a few years ago. The main difference being where the Queens of the Stone Age occasionally showed amazing versatility and ability in their songwriting prowess, all the Rye Coalition has is the pompous loud guitars, and mindless kiss-off attitude; without any of the likeability and memorability that made the Queens a good band.
With song titles like “Between an I-Roc and a Hard Place,” and “Vietnam Veterinarian,” the misconception that, maybe, this is just a band rockin' out, and having a good time could possibly be made. Take a short listen though, and you'll quickly learn that, basically every track here is nothing more than repetitive, mind-numbing garage jams that barely even deserve a home in the garage. Vocalist Cuseglio invokes the 'postured rock star with nothing to say' role made so popular in the mid-to-late-80s, and wears it (and screams it) so strongly that it's almost laughable. You can tell that their aiming for tongue-in-cheek here, but it's all just so unbelievably derivative that it's nearly impossible to enjoy. Curses sounds like a bad classic rock record that deserves very much to be forgotten.
(Gern Blandsten)