boisterous bilingual rock pop outing with a magnificent guitar experience

13 MP3 Songs
ROCK: Progressive Rock, POP: Quirky



Details:
FLAGPOLE - Club Notes -August 31, 2005 by Ben Gerrard
Relief comes in a potent dose at the hands of local band Producto playing at the Caledonia Lounge. I ask someone at the bar what she knows about the band and she says, "A friend told me that sometimes they sound like Blue Öyster Cult and sometimes they don't sound like Blue Öyster Cult, at all, but they rock!" So far her friend has been right on all counts. The powerfully languid vocals of Ané Diaz are at the forefront of this band, but at its core is the aggressively industrial and darkly stirring guitar work of Frank MacDonell, who achieves some of his isolating soundscapes by playing his guitar with a bow through a range of effects pedals. Diaz is now interspersing fiercely angular Athens rock with a laid-back Venezuelan folk song that sways to a gently waltzing rhythm.

When the dark indie rock returns, I also become very aware of the heavily pulsating basslines of Andy Baker, as Producto's next song rocks out with a post-new-wave-punk groove. As Diaz & Co. continue their stylistic twists and turns, they take on a country-meets-Debbie Harry vocal feel before cruising into a comfortable Laura Morgan cover. With its diverse range of styles and extreme musicianship, Producto is all the non-conforming confrontation and melodic power that I could have hoped for.