Reviews
Indie-Music Review

Artist: The Mentals
CD: "Oh Well"
Home: Austin, Texas
Style: Punk/Power Rock

Quote: For pure mayhem and power, "Alien Sex Fiend" is it. The guitar
lines will hook themselves into your brain, and then tug on them a
little for good measure. The song starts out a little slow, but like a
train, builds momentum until it ends in a fiery crash with the dumbass
whose semi stalled out on the tracks."...by Erik Deckers

Intro/general thoughts: There's no doubt about it, The Mentals love what
they're doing. The Austin, Texas based Punk band -- once called "The
illegitimate child of The Pixies and The Melvins" -- has been developing
their craft for the past three years. The raw guitar sound and sometimes
intelligible lyrics have made them a darling of the Texas Punk scene (do
they even have 'darlings' in punk rock?).

Type of Music: Punk/Power Rock
Hometown: Austin, Texas

Notable: The Mentals have had some record label interest from a couple
indie labels, and are looking to hook up with someone soon.
Highs: For pure mayhem and power, "Alien Sex Fiend" is it. The guitar
lines will hook themselves into your brain, and then tug on them a
little for good measure. The song starts out a little slow, but like a
train, builds momentum until it ends in a fiery crash with the dumb ass
whose semi stalled out on the tracks.

Lows: Okay, maybe I'm old school, but I liked it when punk vocals were
unintelligible because of the singer, not because of the equipment.
"Bell Jar" relied to heavily on the equipment to provide the vocal
distortion, and not the power of the singer.

Fans: If you like The Pixies, The Cramps, Radish, or Oleander, you'll like
The Mentals.

Foes: If you like Zamfir, Master of the Pan Flute, you won't like The
Mentals very much.

Summary: Whether it's global conspiracy or just lack of good material,
there's not too much coming out of the punk scene these days. But The
Mentals' pure energy and raw drive, that may change. Keep an eye on Austin, Texas, and wait for The Mentals to break out. If they keep up their current energy
level, that should happen soon.

By Erik Deckers Indie-Music.com