Pretty Good Wassabi review in Now Mag

[zero]

THE WASSABI COLLECTIVE Cato EP (independent) Rating: NNN

"Well-produced and -recorded and tastefully played, Cato features Melissa Meretsky, her cool voice restrained enough to keep the album from sounding too much like Dee-Lite, as can happen with vocalized funk and/or jam bands. The BC arts collective named after a Japanese condiment incorporate folk, psych and dub styles, and often sink into some really cool riffs and grooves, but sometimes they come in with that cock-rock or weird Depeche Mode sound. Still, there's substantial talent here. The Cato EP is a mostly successful effort to negotiate a style of music that could go horribly, cheesily wrong."

Pretty impressive I'd say. The use of the expression cock rock made me think for a second Katie Holloway wrote it but the initials were by some staff writer JR. I think this is pretty cool they actually gave it a decent shake.

[Del]

It's about time they got a good review from someone other than a promoter... Wassabi is playing really well lately and they deserve some good press for it...

[SmoothedShredder]

What a great show!

Now if I ever got around to processing those tracks from that steamy Winter show that just showed up in my CD player last week... That's some fun listen! Welcome back Hula Girl!!!

[color:purple]Still, I wonder how "jambands can sometimes sound like Dee-lite?" I never really made the connection. What a strange consequence one would want to avoid, thus making Cato a good listen, but then again I'm not the one with the ginormous free newspaper! One thing is for sure, I'll never listen to Phish the same way again. Groove is in the heart though, and if it's alright with Bootsy, it's alright with me!

ed: What the hell is purple for? Sarcasam? ... sorry, I'm new here, if it is though... I have induced my answer correrectly, rah!

Seriously though, someone should critique the critique... it's all good I guess, cept it doesn't really make sense. Or am I the only one that thinks that way. JR's got some work to do. My advice, if s/he wants it, is try to paint a picture... and in doing so, for the album Cato, refrain from using the phrases 'cock-rock' or 'Dee-light', okay fine... just not 'cock-rock'. Just my opinion...

That is all... from me... for now.

Yar,

~W

[SmoothedShredder]

I mean common! Is Wassabi really a Japanese condiment! Why the National sentiment JR?! Hmmm?... I use Wassabi... I don't go around toting my 'American' Ketchup do I. Thanks JR for Clearing that up though. Really brought that point home, and I know so much more about what the album Cato is at this point too!

And now that you've declared yourself an autority on National Condiments... would you please help explain to me what folk, psyche, and dub styles are, and the difficulty around orchestrating in these styles that would have one come close to those undesired entry's of cock-rock, or specifically the 'weird' elements of Depeche Mode...

But I digress...

Maybe that exactly what Cato is all about... still I enjoy the bad cop routine... hehe... couldn't really do it for too long though.

Perhaps this sage would extrapolate all my questions in a 500 word review... this poor rookie is being stifled by the 80 word format... I look forward to someday knowing the lengthed words which relate to the JR moniker.

~W