Some of the best bands you have never heard of: (lyrics, funk)

The Prophet · 03-16-2009, 04:53 PM

A semi-regular updated review collection of some of my hardest to find tunes.

I reckon I will start with a double review:

WarsawpacK
2001 Gross Domestic Product

1. Year Of The Car Crash
2. Diabolique
3. Survive
4. Ze Microfiche
5. Attention To Deficit
6. State Of Unconsciousness
7. Friday Night
8. Pause Song
9. Mauser
10. Valdez
11. Lotus Position
12. Doomsday Device
13. Dali

In 2001, a 7 piece jazz/funk/metel/hip-hop fusion project dropped their first full length (I am STILL trying to hunt down their criminally hard to find EP), entitled Gross Domestic Product. A heavy, rocking, jazzier take on the Rage Against the Machine approach to hip-hop, WarsawpacK is both as intelligent and outspoken as Rage, as well as just as passionate and heavy.

A bombastic album that take metal infused jazz-funk, and fronts it by an insanely powerful and passionate emcee, who oozes articulate discontent with the worlds state.

At 13 tracks and 70 minutes long, the album is a rollercoaster ride of heavy and grooving music, that swirls around you like a psychadelic cloud of energy and impassioned lyrics. Lee Rabacks vocals are coherent, insightful, contemptuous and compassionate, backed perfectly by the bands complex and huge sound.

Of particular stand-out are the tracks, Attention to Deficit, a clear call for awareness about the over-perscribing of drugs to the youth, Pause Song, a beautifully haunting flute driven instrumental, Mauser, arguably the albums heaviest and darkest track, and the 9.5 minute melancholic and heavy ode to the approaching global crisis (written 8 years ago).

2003 Stocks & Bombs:

1. Intro
2. Lump of Coal
3. Pig Dog
4. Mammon parade
5. All Fours
6. Pushing Hands
7. Wolfblitzer
8. War on Drugs
9. Rogue Nation
10. Nine
11. TV Eyes
12. Limited Time Offer
13. Hybrid
14. Market Steward Living

The bands second (and final) album, while shorter than the first, is even more intense and vituperative, with Rabacks rage and fear about the worlds path rising even further to the surface, making the album darker and edgier than GDP.

Taking the metal edge and sharpening it, the band achieves a superb balance with the vocals, bringing the whole thing to a rocking conclusion that will knock down, any fan of heavy(ish) intelligent and complex music.

With a number of stand-out tracks, this albums biggest flaw is no single track, rather it is the albums lack of length, rolling in at around 45 minutes, which in comparison to GDP feels a touch shortened.

Breaking up in late '04, the band cited the extreme difficulty of trying to support families on the life of an independant band.

For fans of: Rage Against the Machine, the Blend, Audible Mainframe, K'naan, G Band Free

The band consists of: vocalist Lee Raback, guitarist Ajit Rao, bassist Jaroslav Wassmann, tenor saxophonist and flautist Simon Oczkowski, baritone saxophonist Adam Bryant, turntablist Aaron Sakala and drummer Matt Cormier.

Last.FM
Myspace

The Myspace page includes, We Conquer, a track that never made it onto the full-length albums (which means it must be from the ephemereal EP.)

03-16-2009, 04:53 PM	#1 (permalink)
The Prophet Music Addict Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Vancouver Posts: 66	Some of the best bands you have never heard of: A semi-regular updated review collection of some of my hardest to find tunes. I reckon I will start with a double review: WarsawpacK 2001 Gross Domestic Product 1. Year Of The Car Crash 2. Diabolique 3. Survive 4. Ze Microfiche 5. Attention To Deficit 6. State Of Unconsciousness 7. Friday Night 8. Pause Song 9. Mauser 10. Valdez 11. Lotus Position 12. Doomsday Device 13. Dali In 2001, a 7 piece jazz/funk/metel/hip-hop fusion project dropped their first full length (I am STILL trying to hunt down their criminally hard to find EP), entitled Gross Domestic Product. A heavy, rocking, jazzier take on the Rage Against the Machine approach to hip-hop, WarsawpacK is both as intelligent and outspoken as Rage, as well as just as passionate and heavy. A bombastic album that take metal infused jazz-funk, and fronts it by an insanely powerful and passionate emcee, who oozes articulate discontent with the worlds state. At 13 tracks and 70 minutes long, the album is a rollercoaster ride of heavy and grooving music, that swirls around you like a psychadelic cloud of energy and impassioned lyrics. Lee Rabacks vocals are coherent, insightful, contemptuous and compassionate, backed perfectly by the bands complex and huge sound. Of particular stand-out are the tracks, Attention to Deficit, a clear call for awareness about the over-perscribing of drugs to the youth, Pause Song, a beautifully haunting flute driven instrumental, Mauser, arguably the albums heaviest and darkest track, and the 9.5 minute melancholic and heavy ode to the approaching global crisis (written 8 years ago). 2003 Stocks & Bombs: 1. Intro 2. Lump of Coal 3. Pig Dog 4. Mammon parade 5. All Fours 6. Pushing Hands 7. Wolfblitzer 8. War on Drugs 9. Rogue Nation 10. Nine 11. TV Eyes 12. Limited Time Offer 13. Hybrid 14. Market Steward Living The bands second (and final) album, while shorter than the first, is even more intense and vituperative, with Rabacks rage and fear about the worlds path rising even further to the surface, making the album darker and edgier than GDP. Taking the metal edge and sharpening it, the band achieves a superb balance with the vocals, bringing the whole thing to a rocking conclusion that will knock down, any fan of heavy(ish) intelligent and complex music. With a number of stand-out tracks, this albums biggest flaw is no single track, rather it is the albums lack of length, rolling in at around 45 minutes, which in comparison to GDP feels a touch shortened. Breaking up in late '04, the band cited the extreme difficulty of trying to support families on the life of an independant band. For fans of: Rage Against the Machine, the Blend, Audible Mainframe, K'naan, G Band Free The band consists of: vocalist Lee Raback, guitarist Ajit Rao, bassist Jaroslav Wassmann, tenor saxophonist and flautist Simon Oczkowski, baritone saxophonist Adam Bryant, turntablist Aaron Sakala and drummer Matt Cormier. Last.FM Myspace The Myspace page includes, We Conquer, a track that never made it onto the full-length albums (which means it must be from the ephemereal EP.) __________________ I broke the walls that kept the world small.