By Jae-Ha Kim
Chicago Sun-Times
July 14, 1996
Sponge, “Wax Ecstatic” (Columbia)
OK. So “Wax Ecstatic” isn’t as ambitious as Sponge’s rocking debut “Rotting Pinata.” But it’s still a lot of fun. The best cut is the title track, with its ferocious delivery and screeching guitars. Vinnie Dombroski is a pleasantly bored singer who, if his vocal delivery is any indication, has been influenced by Trent Reznor, Bauhaus and Sisters of Mercy.
There are a whole slew of un-Sponge like instruments (strings, horns) cluttering up this record, but the most unnecessary inclusion is the guest vocals of the Psychedelic Furs’ Richard Butler, who lends his familiar rasp to “Anastasia.” Songs such as “Got to Be a Bore” are best when sung by a semi-gloomy, snarling Dombroski.
Dogstar, “Quattro Formaggi” (Zoo)
For those who can’t wait until Dogstar’s debut album is released at the end of August, the trio has an enhanced CD sampler called “Quattro Formaggi” that hits stores on Tuesday. It’s a fair representation of what the band’s sound is all about: solid alternative
rock.
Visually, the group is all about Keanu Reeves, but the movie star bassist takes a back seat to vocalist-guitarist-lyricist Bret Domrose on record. Live, Domrose’s vocals tend to get drowned out by Reeves and drummer Rob Mailhouse, but the mix on this record fixed that problem.
His voice is the strongest on the pining “Return,” where he sounds vaguely like Charlie Sexton (ca. 1985), but the band’s strongest song is the crudely clever “Honesty Anyway” (“From the first time I ever felt your skin/I figured things a little strange/As I began to rearrange myself”).
Dogstar’s music is much improved by the inclusion of a lush string section. That’s something the band might want to consider implementing into its live shows.
Frente, “Shape” (Mammoth/Atlantic)
In stores Tuesday, “Shape” is the latest effort by the band best known for its cover of New Order’s “Bizarre Love Triangle.” Formerly Frente!, the Australian quartet has dropped the exclamation point, which is appropriate considering the band’s penchant for somber music.
Wispy voiced Angie Hart has a small, delicate voice that could get lost in a rock band, but she is an inquisitive singer whose stylistic phrasing ultimately holds the listener’s attention. Wrapping her voice around lines that seem to exist simply because they rhyme (“You’ve taken my silence as total compliance”), Hart sounds best when accompanied solely by guitarist Simon Austin.
