Stever – Playground Isolator CD Review
- on 04.28.09
- Music
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Stever – Playground Isolator
(you can also read our Interview with Karen here: Karen Stever Interview )
I’m a fan of warped music. No, quite literally, music that is warped, like playing a slightly sun damaged LP on a record player. Dwell on that sound for a moment while I set the rest of this up, we’ll return to the topic of warped music in just a bit..
Myspace is a great place to network and discover new music. I have certainly spent many an hour just browsing other myspace pages, not exactly for the people on them but for the music they listen to.
One such listen session brought me to a song, Sicko. Cool was the initial thought. I followed it to the myspace page of Karen Stever. After giving the other tracks a listen, I requested Stever as a friend.
As time went by bullitens were posted. One such was from Karen Stever letting the readers know of a Music Bailout Plan.
Get this; she signed a CD, mailed it to me, and the best part, I didn’t have to pay for it until I had the money! Of course I paid for it right away, I can’t stand being in debt to someone, but that’s not the point. The point is, how many musicians out there will do that??
That is pretty damn cool in my book!
Onto the CD itself:
We have 12 tracks with a running time of about 53 minutes.
The first song, Sicko…
Remember that warped music I mentioned at the beginning of this? This song is where it begins. Just a hint of it mind you, but it grabs me! Like an explosion at the beginning of a movie. Another track, Funeral Mute, has a warped music intro as well. It’s not obnoxious, it not a ruined spot on your LP, it’s art.
The album has dark overtones, like dark industrial alternative music. That’s not to say it’s depressing because, well, it’s not. It’s like a ride in a horror house at a carnival. It’s got twists and deeper meanings, each song is it’s own attraction.
It reminds me of music that I would listen to late at night back in the ’80′s. That is, not the average Top 40 that everyone pretended to be into, but the hardcore music that was made for the fans of music. Stuff like Pixies, Concrete Blonde, Bad Brains, and Black Flag. Music that had a REAL sound to it, not today’s resampled unoriginal crap.
I can honestly say that a lot went into the music put forth here. Raw emotion. I get the feeling by listening it’s not just lyrics being sung in hopes of cashing in, but instead it’s something made with passion, meaning, and pulled heart-strings.
Karen, I want to thank you for sharing that personal connection with us.
No question this is a thumbs up!
