With bands popping all over these days, especially in Murfreesboro, one can get the feeling that anyone with a group of friends can have a band. And anyone with some semblance of a band can get a show. Dr. Asimov proves to me that a band can consist of two bass players, samples, drums, barking vocals and simple melodies, and can also have a good recording of its songs, along with a decent album. Murfreesboro has graduated to be a forum of 20-somethings who can help each other get their creative ideas off the ground, not only as a band, or at a show, but in recording, packaging and album reviews as well.
Took a Cure, Dr. Asimov’s latest release, is a good icon for Murfreesboro bands seeking to express themselves and having an outlet to do so. The songs aren’t flashy and they use sounds that aren’t necessarily conventional either. Tracks like “Mind(v.C)” have an intensity that reminds me of grunge rock with a little sprinkle of prog. sensibility. The last song on the album, “TinMan,” follows suit and has a melding of repetitive rock riffs played by dueling bass guitars and splashes of melancholic vocals that graduate to a full on up tempo dance rock scream fest that drops back and forth and kicks back with a sludgy outro leaving you to question what just happened. It’s like you know what you are listening to when you listen to Dr. Asimov, but you don’t know what to think when you are done. Is it a good album? Are they a good band? To be honest, I don’t know what to say. A little bird told me they have new material on the way. I am interested in hearing it. You should be too.
The recording/production on Took a Cure captures every nuance of Dr. Asimov’s sound. At times the recording captures a bit too much, as the sounds are separated so well that the individual instruments stick out from one another a bit too much. I think if the mix was mashed together a bit more, there would be this sound that moves as one unit rather than individual sounds working around each other. The drums are captured really well and that’s a good thing. The vocals are easily understood, and at times the screaming vocals are understood a bit too well.
If you are into Primus or Korn, you might find something in Dr. Asimov that you like. If you are into early Nirvana or Local H, you will see some similarities. If you are into your local music scene, help these guys out and get a copy of Took a Cure and see what it does to you.
