NUKE THE SOUP, MAKE WAVES NOT WAR

Nuke The Soup is an all-original & brand new project thanks in part to the vision of veteran musician, Mark Davison. Davison is the lead singer/songwriter while also handling guitar parts and Mark is actually the founding member of Cubic Feet.   This music vet from Maryland even came up with the group logo, which depicts a black and white soup bowl with a nuclear mushroom cloud.   Funny story about the band name because it actually revolves around real soup and a microwave–no joke!   Mark and his sister were out enjoying dinner one night when his sister told the waiter to “nuke the soup” because it was cold.   So, there you have it!   No tricky, hidden messages or complex reasoning behind Nuke The Soup, which is quite refreshing.

Now, the CD title Make Waves Not War can be easily compared to making love not war.   In this case, Davison and his comrades are telling you to enjoy the ocean waters rather than kill each other.   In the end, both phrases have the same meaning, which is to follow positive waves of life instead of inflicting pain, destruction, terror and death upon one another.   Simple in text, but oh so powerful & potent in substance is what I get out of Nuke The Soup’s mission to Make Waves Not War.

The current lineup consists of Mark Davison, Brian Simms on keys, Mike Mennell on bass, Rennie Grant on guitar and Chester Thompson (Genesis, Weather Report, Frank Zappa & Phil Collins) on drums.   There are also many other talented East Coast musicians that contributed toward the making of this stellar record.   It is also duly noted that this album was produced by Pete Solley who has worked with Oingo Boingo, The Romantics and even Davison’s former band, Cubic Feet.

The first single off the new album, “Filled With Dread”, is a perfect answer to the ongoing madness of this world.   This track is fun & energetic and filled with much-needed zest for these times.   What Mark has done here is turn a negative subject into a positive one musically.   Shining light into, onto and all around darkness is the premise here.   This is pure genius on the part of Mark Davison, if you ask me.

The CD rolls along in similar fashion by incorporating happy-go-lucky tunes to sing along with.   I even caught myself singing chorus lines during certain songs on this recording.   There is an incredibly catchy & infectious sound evident here that can best be described as ocean-in-motion rock.   I’m very excited to hear smooth island vibes as well as nice-sounding vocals coming from Mark Davison.   Soak up some sun and catch a wave with easy-going/good-times music for all you wave-goers out there.   Nuke The Soup dares you get a firm grip on the earth, bounce it around a little bit and just have some fun.   Shall we go back to that old children’s song “You Got the Whole World in Your Hands” to figure things out.   Kids will always believe that saying wholeheartedly; NOW WE have to make it happen.

The overall feel of this album is so contagious that by the end of the last song you will feel better without question.   Soak up all the goodness that Nuke The Soup is feeding you because well-put-together, quality material is on the table here.   Excellent musicianship mixed with a rock-solid performance = 1 big, wholesome bowl of Nuke The Soup.   This group will explode at the surface and not in a bowl because they are the bomb.   Get ready as Make Waves Not War attempts to create a safer & happier society with a big splash of fun-going/carefree rock music.   For more on Nuke The Soup and their new release, Make Waves Not War, SKOPE out www.nukethesoup.com, www.myspace.com/nukethesoup and www.meteorrecords.com.  

For the first time ever, I’d like to give this a special rating because this is a one-of-a-kind record that deserves one-of-a-kind recognition.  

5 SKOPES suddenly becomes 5 WAVES OF HOPE

By Jimmy Rae (jrae@skopemag.com)

[Rating: 5/5]