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Album Details

• Artist: Scott Reynolds & The Steaming Beast
• Album: Adventure Boy
• Label: Suburban Home
• Year of Release: 2008
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: patchen on 2008-01-24

As former vocalist for All, Scott Reynolds might be expected to continue with what has worked in the past, but he clearly has not had any intention of doing so. His work with The Steaming Beast is a quirky adventure through pop, math-rock, and jump blues that recalls the goofy/smart/smart-ass stew of They Might Be Giants or Weezer. As such, “Adventure Boy” will either appeal to your sweet tooth or irritate the same. That fine line between clever and geeky is best illustrated by the opener. “Jesus, Satan, Gene Beeman, His Car, & Pizza Hut” teeters and blares its stream-of-consciousness list of the mundane and profound, with results that are equally erratic. Much better are tracks like “Line Check” or “None of This is Funny,” where substance wins over the toss it all up in the air and see what flies approach. For The Steaming Beast, Reynolds has assembled some formidable musicians, who are clearly up for the task of cooking in many genres at once. “Adventure Boy” is a fun record that, when it doesn’t work, invokes groans rather than anything more hostile. When it works, it is a jaunty rollercoaster of sound and fury signifying…something.

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