Said Radio

Tidal Waves and Teeth (2007)

mikexdude

Said Radio is the highly anticipated product of one of the Bay Area favorites, Eric Ozenne. For lack of a better word, Said Radio is a "supergroup" of his own former bands, along with Dante Sigona (ex-Nerve Agents), Gary Gutfeld (ex-Redemption 87), and the help of two others including Anthony Anzaldo (Ceremony).

Besides the familiar psychotic yelling of Eric Ozenne, Said Radio is fresh and picks up in a completely different spot then what the Nerve Agents let us off at six or so years ago. Instrumentally, we have Dante and Anthony creating a unique contrast of sound: Anthony riffing on power chords while Dante, with minimal distortion and lots of flanger effects, creates counter leads that compliment the songs quite nicely. Gary adds to the mix by contributing tight, driving beats. High points include "The Killer (Mara)," "Roses," and "Anchor."

This release has more of an honest, dark feeling than the Nerve Agents ever had, but it's to be expected with Dante in the band. Yet, despite that, the lyrics are surprisingly uplifting ("Roses," "Cue the Crickets") and seem to to be about topics that are close to Eric Ozenne's heart ("Tidal Wave and Teeth"). Occasionally, Eric will stop his yelling to give an intense rant over the instruments, which is quite chilling to see live.

With all of that said, I move to the negative aspects of Tidal Waves and Teeth. In some parts of songs you start to see the same formula repeated, such as Eric's ranting. Also, the intro song (as good as the lyrics are) could have been left off the disc and it wouldn't have made much of a difference.

From Unit Pride to Said Radio, I can safely say this is Eric Ozenne's most unique and promising band to date. This is how all debut releases should be.