I admit it: I was totally digging the arty, experimental, Wire/Gang of Four-esque repetitiousness of the first track off Feverdream's five-song EP. 'Freeze!' starts off with a conflicted- and tense-sounding rant with its incessant machine-gun-like driving guitar, bass, and drum barrage and the oft-sung lines of "America you'll pay the price/America, you roll the high dice" with its discussion of "white man's burden" and the like. The song is good ﾖ even, dare I say, charming. However, after "America", it all goes downhill...fast. Okay, fine, musically "My Johnson" is all right, some good experimental indie/punk, but it becomes monotonous with the lame lyrics, "Shake hands with my Johnson/Shake hands with the man." And talk about monotony! "More than a Theme" beats anything else on the record with its one-note bass and unremitting cries of "Why should we stay and why should we go?" I don't know?! Ask The Clash? They had a similar question 22 years ago...

According to the press release these guys from Holland have gotten great responses in some prestigious publications with their last album, but if 'Freeze!' is any indication, I suppose I'll be in the minority with my negative views of Feverdream's approach. That last offering, "4 Times Lucky 7 Makes a Man the Man" and its teetering vocals and bittersweet love-lorn lyrics is leaving one helluva bad taste in my mouth. Gotta go back to track one, the EP's saving grace...