Reviews
Aversion Review

It’s been more than ten years since Nirvana broke with "Smells Like Teen
Spirit," and in that time the late Kurt Cobain’s been heralded as one of
the most important songwriters of our generation. You’d think that with
such sway over the course of rock’s history, there’d be more bands that
sprung up in Nirvana’s wake and copied the sound.

Maybe it’s a difficult style to master. After all, the post-Cobain
wannabe acts ranged from simply forgettable (Alice In Chains) to the
downright horrible (Pearl Jam). Whatever the reason is unlike icons such
The Ramones who’ve had more bands steal their sound than the Grateful
Dead have bootlegs, Nirvana’s never managed to cull much of an
extended-family following.

The Mentals are the rare band that’s able to parrot Nirvana’s sound
without sounding like a bunch of ridiculous poseurs, though that skill will
always keep Oh Well in the realm of followers. The Mentals could have chosen a lot worse bands to copy, however: the band’s album is a jump back in time to the
days when ruddy guitar sounds and mid-tempo rock beats ruled the airwaves.
Sounding like Bleach era Nirvana (before the band had either a decent
recording budget or drummer), Oh Well rocks what may be the best
contende to Cobain’s throne as Seattle punk king. From lurching numbers
with a lead guitar’s droning distortion and lapel-grabbing energy
("Alien Sex Fiend") to songs that bring the slow/fast Nirvana
arrangements back from the dead ("Valium"), The Mentals sound like the
long-lost brother we never knew Nirvana had. Singer Steve Tobin’s
delivery also begs comparisons to Aberdeen’s favorite sons, with a nasal
scream that channels Cobain’s spirit. Even a quick rundown of the track
listing reveals a list of song titles that could
have been forgotten Nirvana B-sides: "Valium" takes the place of
"Lithium", "Numb" replaces "Dumb", "‘The Girlfriend Song’" steps up for "About a
Girl."

The lo-fi ethics used to record Oh Well usually give the album’s songs a
bit more edge, though the low-quality recording is taken a few steps too
far: lingering low ends buzz throughout the album, and the
self-consciously rough mix lets things become too messy too often to
really showcase the band’s songs.
While The Mental’s brazen Nirvana copy is a pretty fun copy, it’s still
walking in shoes that have been dead for seven years now. Consequently,
there’s nothing new to be found anywhere on this album, a shortcoming
The Mentals will have to overcome if they want to become anything more
than shadows of Nirvana.

By aversion.com