By
Chad Taylor
soundcheck@dmcityview.com
 3
Pill Morning
‘Black Tie Love Affair’
A2Z/Page 2 Music/eOne
3 Pill Morning has chosen a particularly tough
row to hoe. It’s clear from the outset of “Black
Tie Love Affair” that the band is shooting for
a piece of the radio-ready, hard rock scene.
While there’s nothing particularly wrong with
going in the pop rock direction if that’s your
thing, 3 Pill Morning’s efforts seem aimed at
the same audience as the well-entrenched Seether/Shinedown/Nickleback
triumvirate. And while I certainly don’t want
to be responsible for saddling the band with
the dreaded “N-word” comparison, there’s really
very little separating opening track “Rain”
and Nickleback’s “Burn it to the Ground.” From
there, however, 3 Pill Morning acquit themselves
fairly well. Second track “Skin” is a radio-ready
pop ditty, and “I Want That For You” features
some nifty guitar work. CV
(3 Pill Morning plays an all-ages show at Wooly’s
on Sunday, July 22 at 7 p.m. with Sevendust,
Black Oxygen, Dead Horse Trauma and Fatal Addiction.
$25.)
 The
Workshy
‘You Are Here’
Independent
The Workshy is a band that’s kind of trapped
between a couple of worlds. While clearly a
jam band, they lack the trippy psychedelics
of, say, Radio Moscow, and they don’t quite
reach the eclectic, genre-jumping nirvana of
bands like Euforquestra. What you’re left with
on “You Are Here” is a collection of songs that
are certainly fun to listen to on their own
but that never really sell themselves to one
audience or the other. This is kind of to their
credit, as it’s clear that The Workshy has the
ability to take its sound in either direction.
Guitarist Kratzer is clearly talented and can
bust out a trippy solo with the best of them,
but The Workshy is thus far content to dip a
toe into the ska/funk/rock waters without really
committing. “You Are Here” is tantalizing and
fun, if not 100 percent satisfying. CV
(The Workshy plays El Bait Shop on Sunday, July
22, at 8 p.m.)
Want your new CD reviewed? Email us a link
at soundcheck@dmcityview.com
or mail a physical copy to: Cityview, 414 61st
Street, Des Moines, IA 50312.
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