posted 2010-02-17
BABY SCREAM is actually one man (Juan Mazzola from Argentina) surrounded by various musicians depending on the location though it was a full band until 2006. Juan the travelling man loves The REPLACEMENTS, Bob Dylan, TEENAGE FANCLUB, British pop and glam ballads à la Marc Bolan among other things.
"Ups and Downs" is actually divided in two parts, the first one was recorded in Argentina and the second one named "Planet Michael" was recorded in Germany. The record ended up being released in the United States in 2008 so there's no need to tell you that BABY SCREAM is an international project. "Ups and Downs"offers us some craftily well written pop tunes that sometimes make me think about DINOSAUR JR. ("Away", "Walls Crumbling Down") or The SERVANT ("Mars".)
You'll get some 90s power pop in the vein of early PLACEBO as well ("Everyday (I Die a Little Bit"), some good melodic guitar solos ("One More Chance"), some STONES traces ("Morning Light") and the slower and darker songs like "The Riots" put you in an atmosphere quite close to Naruzy Suicide's "Mad French Doll" (the 2002 release from LIPSTICK KILLERS' singer.) The CD closes paying tribute to The REPLACEMENTS with a "Skyway" cover
The newest release is a 7 song CD "Identity Theft" was mostly recorded in Los Angeles and despite the album title, the first song "Be" sets the tone: "be yourself and no one else". There's often an early Bowie influence or a T-REX feel ("Underground Blues") in these short and mostly soft pop songs but they always remain BABY SCREAM songs in the end. No cheap imitation here.
BABY SCREAM is one more proof that you can always feel when things are done with passion and dedication./Laurent.
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