Nick
3.5 stars
The landscape of modern rock is littered with trash. There are so many crappy bands that have made it big such as Nickelback, Korn, and Evanescence. Nick Black is struggling to make it big, and from what I’ve heard there’s no reason he shouldn’t make it big.
I saw Black perform with his band on Friday, June 15 at The Keyclub on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood. Their performance was pretty good, and I picked up a five-song sampler they were giving away for free in the club. For lack of something to call it, I’ve called it the Hollow EP. The CD includes the tracks “It’s Over,” “Let You Go,” “Sorry,” “Hollow,” and “Barracuda.”
The songs on the EP are ace. I am pretty surprised I like it because I tend to shy away from the new hard rock they play on the narrow rock format you find on the FM dial nowadays. Of course, there are exceptions such as Wolfmother and System of a Down. Black’s songs rock hard. They follow the proven rock song formula, but they avoid sounding overly contrived. The title track to their full-length album, Hollow, which is available on their Web site or on iTunes, is the obligatory rock ballad, but it truly is an exceptional track. It’s the perfect showcase for Black’s rich and deep voice. Black’s cover of Heart‘s “Barracuda” is tremendous. I think Black’s version is better than the original.
In a land where his genre has run its course, Nick Black is relevant and worthy of a listen. I honestly think the name Nick Black will be known by more people than just his cult following in the very near future.
Scale:
0. Shoot yourself
1. Poor
2. So-So
3. Good
4. Excellent
5. Instant classic