| Apparently this group was conceived when
Paul Emersun took a songwriting class at Chicago's Old Town School of folk music where he
met drummer Gary Yek, who was playing with Hollister. Somehow it came about that Emersun
wrote most of the music on this recording, but he doesn't play on it. Instead, lyricist,
vocalist and keyboard player Hollister is joined by two guitarists, bass, and drums for a
pretty regular rock-romp with screaming guitar and more than a little feline growl from
Hollister. When her powerful vocals are distorted on "Point," Hollister sounds
like a throwback to tough-era (pre-Christian/Republican makeover) Pat Benatar, and the
guitar sounds like it's being channeled from that same era, if not a few eras before.
Thankfully, Hollister shows a softer side on the following track, "Red," an
atmospheric, abstract paean to said color, but then again, the guitar explodes back in
with the solo. These kinds of guitar leads are standard fare throughout the album, lending
a clichéd "Cat Scratch Fever" quality to whatever Hollister has to say. This is
unfortunate, because I suspect that given a chance to write her own material, she wouldn't
make those same choices song after song. Not that her hard side is bad; it recalls Heart,
and at its best, her voice carries the intensity and poetic passion of Patti Smith, but
there's a sneaking suspicion running throughout this disc, that this group is trying so
hard to rawk that all other potentiality fades into the periphery. On
"Promises," listeners get a duet between Hollister and guitarist Paul Sundquist;
it's a reprieve from the hard stuff, but still melodramatic. "No Rescue," with
its acoustic guitar and somber reflections on death, shows promise, and even though it
predictably turns harder like the other tunes, there's a metal twist that lends flavor.
Closing out with the anthemic "Wizard," Hollister shows her renaissance faire
side -- mixed with a guitar part that's more grunge than metal.
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