The Willowz

Artist: The Willowz
Label: Dionysus Records
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1

UPC: 053477310622
EAN: 0053477310622
ASIN: B0000VV3ZK

Release Date: 2004-01-20

The Willowz

Related Categories:

General

| Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Garage Punk

| Hardcore & Punk | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Indie Rock

| Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Garage Rock

General

| Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock

| Pop | Styles | Music

Tracks:

Meet Your Demise
Equation #6
Get Down
Put Together
Not You
I Wonder
Something
Keep on Looking
End Song

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Customer Reviews:

The Rub.......2006-04-04

To record in the garage, or not to record in the garage? That is the question.

Willowz, a trio of Anaheim teenagers, has garnered attention recently via two songs from their self-titled debut ("I Wonder" and "Something"), included by Jon Brion alongside Beck's "Everybody's Gotta Learn Sometime" on the Eternal Sunshine soundtrack. First recorded in a garage, Willowz was later cut in a proper studio, but in light of the present garage pop revival, the version chosen for release was the original, carbon-monoxide tinged session.

Logging in at a riff over twenty minutes, Willowz, though not labeled as such, has to be considered an EP, implying, for this reviewer, that it should be held to a unique set of criteria less stringent than those by which LPs are judged.

Singer Richie James March, a cross between Julian Casablancas and Jack White (how timely!), spits sophomoric lyrics that touch on such universal teenage themes as flying to Mars, the overwhelming urge to "go", trying to disappear, all things "free", the lethargy of "old" people and "getting down".

Jessica Reynoza, bass player / backup singer, is a welcome change of pace, especially on raucous opener "Meet Your Demise", where she somewhat sexily sings "You're the one, Baby / Meet your demise" in a voice startlingly like (you guessed it!) Meg White's. This begs the question: If you're a fairly attractive young rocker without a vocal identity to call your own, why on Mars would you choose shrinking violet Meg as a mentor? Maybe Reynoza just wants to be popular.

"Something" is another highlight, sounding conspicuously like a lost track from The Strokes' Is This It? sessions. When March howls "Be true / You ain't got nothin' to do" the listener both cringes at the squeal of mic feedback and bobs their head along with the cheap drum and guitar backdrop.

"I Wonder" is the only ballad here, featuring lyrics that sound as though they were lifted straight out of the margins of an Algebra textbook ("I have an urge deep within me / To quit school and just be free") in a warbled falsetto against a raw acoustic guitar (And even in this lame lyric Willowz imitates The White Stripes' more interesting "I'm inclined to go finish high school / Just to make her [the mother whose heart Jack wants to warm] notice that I'm around"). While such lyrical vapidity precludes "I Wonder" from moving the listener emotionally, the track does serve as respite in an otherwise aggressive mix.

Okay, so perhaps we're being a bit hard on these kids. However familiar, the Willowz EP is a head-bobbingly good time. Despite the trite lyrics, borrowed sound and dubious musicianship, Willowz clearly are having a great time performing and that enthusiasm is not lost on the listener. If you're looking for originality or technical proficiency, you're spinning the wrong disc, but if you're here to indulge in some trashy, teenage rock, you've come to the right garage.

Be true, you ain't got nothing to do!.......2004-05-24

This album rocks. Driven by howling vocals and fast, distorted guitars, The Willowz give a breath of life into the overhyped and tired Garage Rock genre. The two standout tracks of the album (both of which appear on the Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind) offer the best oof The Willowz world. 'I Wonder' is an acoustic song with really good lyrics. 'Something' is by far the best song on the album. It just... rocks. So if you are a fan of Garage Rock, Indie, Punk or good, fast, fun music pick this album up.

Music Album:

Music Album

Music Album

Music CD

Listen Here ~ Gene Harris Quartet

Stompin' at the Savoy ~ Lewis Nash

Daybreak ~ Dave Burrell and David Murray

Chattanooga Choo Choo ~ Glenn Miller

Blue Note Years, Vol. 2 ~ Thelonious Monk

Keepin It Real ~ Southern Cree

In Liebe ~ Jonny Hill

300 Hits in Japan 1965-1984 V.1 ~ Various Artists

Chemin Faisant ~ Sedrenn

El Condor Pasa: Flute of the Andes ~ Various Artists