Tuesday, July 19, 2011

311 – ‘Universal Pulse’: A Review (A&E Playground)

Starting off with the snappy tune “Time Bomb” 311 gets things going right off the bat in a hurry on their new release Universal Pulse. Catchy at the same time, I must say. “Wild Nights” has a tougher guitar sound. I like the variety right from the start. Although short with only eight songs, I don’t hear anything lousy. “Sunset in July” is simply a marvelous song. The guitar will get in your head and drive you nuts.

“Trouble” is another song with great guitars and a pretty nice lead. It may not put Omaha, Nebraska on the music map, but it sounds good all the way through. “Count Me In” shows how funky they can be. Whoa! Nice departure in sound! You have to hear this one for sure. This could very well be my favorite on a release of solid material. “Rock On” has a interesting sound, not sounding like the rest. The variety aims to please.

“Weightless” has some more excellent guitar playing. I like this enough to wish there were more songs, but what a solid release this is. ”And a Ways to Go” features a more mellow laid back guitar sound and is a nice variation from the other songs, then kind of kicks in for the second half of the song. This is like more than one song. Ooh! That end finishes this release out very strong. What a funky sound! Check it out!

311 is: Nick Hexum (vocals/guitar), Doug SA Martinez (vocals/turntables), Tim Mahoney (lead guitar), Aaron P-Nut Wills (bass), and Chad Sexton (drums). This is easily a 4 and a half star effort.

http://artsandentertainmentplayground.com/2011/07/19/311-universal-pulse-a-review/

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