Many of the most loved and acclaimed albums have been inspired and driven by a large and diverse set of musical influences. What would occur if, instead of synthesizing well-respected musical styles into a unique and compelling whole, a band chose to compose a sound out of some of the most unappealing genres and musical styles without altering them to fit their aesthetic purposes? Enter the Seattle foursome The Whore Moans. A discordant bricolage of punk, pop-punk, garage rock, glam, emo, and post-grunge, Hello From The Radio Wasteland is a perfectly fitting title for an album that seems to be largely cobbled together from pieces of the utter mess clogging the airwaves of modern rock stations.
The band exhibits a remarkable amount of skill in shifting between different styles, but they consistently negate whatever good will they accrue through technique and rough, trashy charm with mindbogglingly bad decisions. "Nerve Tonic!," a reasonably likable, formulaic ode to drugs, is completely undone by the singer's choice to sing like he's the bastard child of Steven Tyler and Black Francis. And as interesting as that sounds, it's really quite terrible.
That's the crux of the problem with this record: The Whore Moans consistently take concepts that should work and somehow sap them of their vitality. The one consistently strong element throughout the entire record is the drumming; it's muscular, but not overpowering, and you get the sense that the drummer is the only person in the band really making an effort to ensure that his contributions mesh with those of the other players.
Still, there are temporary moments of genius here, particularly on one of their most radio-friendly songs, "Fingers and Martyrs," the album's one perfect moment. It works because it's all indistinct danger and sweet nothings — "Save yourself," "Put up a fight," etc. — which, in pop, means everything. They'll never be The Clash, even though they obviously want to, but with time and focus, they could be the next Undertones or Buzzcocks.
1. Nerve Tonic!
2. The Holy Fucking Moment
3. Fingers and Martyrs
4. White Noise Melody
5. Wall of a Song
6. Hearts and Wires
7. No Soul
8. Rise and Shine
9. Dead Man's Drink
10. Cave of the Auger Tree
11. Rockets and Knots
12. Cold Comfort (In The Night)
13. Here Comes America
14. Before the Frost
More about: The Whore Moans
