Next up on the agenda for this week is an Arlington, Virginia four-piece set out to subvert, destroy, and upset the rest of the world. No, I'm just kidding. However, this band out to rock, so we better watch out. Anyway, let's get on with the music. Shall we? One very interesting note about this CD is that Steve Albini, one of the more well-known producers/sound engineers, recorded this album for the band. It's kind of funny because you can practically hear Steve singing through and under the music. The CD opens up with the track "Slider" which in my opinion sounded like a mix between Tool, Nirvana, and Shellac. The only difference between those bands and this one is that Subversive sounds a little more radio-friendly that Tool and Shellac. You can tell that these guys are going for the System of the Down and Deftones look and sound after you listen to the song "Otherwise." For hard rocking music, it ain't half bad, but remember, that's only half. It's really kind of strange when you try to put your finger on exactly what this band sounds like. It's rock, it's punk, it's metal. It's a whole lotta everything if you ask me. Overall, I thought this was a decent CD. Not a super standout, but definitely worth listening to and worthy of checking out. If this is your kind of musical thing, then I highly recommend this one.

Issue #53 June 2003 The Oxford American 6th Annual Music Issue Subversive