Ace of Hearts is back? The vaunted early '80s Boston home of Mission of Burma, Neats, Lyres, Neighborhoods, and others? Yup. And label head Richard W. Harte even produced this, just like old times. But before you start booking your ticket to new post-punk nirvana, there is zero connection between his tradition and what he sees in this trio. Chaotic Past do feature a buzzing thick guitar and a '90s conceit, but that only barely updates a total '70s hippy-rock trip (is Mountain on the comeback trail?). Singer Chris Neumann ...
Read More
Ace of Hearts is back? The vaunted early '80s Boston home of Mission of Burma, Neats, Lyres, Neighborhoods, and others? Yup. And label head Richard W. Harte even produced this, just like old times. But before you start booking your ticket to new post-punk nirvana, there is zero connection between his tradition and what he sees in this trio. Chaotic Past do feature a buzzing thick guitar and a '90s conceit, but that only barely updates a total '70s hippy-rock trip (is Mountain on the comeback trail?). Singer Chris Neumann wails in that vice-on-the-balls way, like a cross between Steppenwolf's John Kay and Rocky Horror Picture Show's Tim Curry. It's a high-pitched siren I dislike, that admittedly is not poorly matched with some of the other '70s-hard rockisms lurking in the rock opera-likes of "Hector" (sample: "I walk anonymous through the tarmac monster's intestine"), and if you, unlike me, have a hankering to return to the long hair/art-rock/prog indulgent spectacle days, these guys will have you reaching for those dusty LPs in your collection! The rest of us will stick to Spinal Tap. (P.O. Box 579, Boston, MA 02215; www.aceofhearts.com) ~ Jack Rabid, Rovi
Read Less