Get ready for electro-rock madness on Old Wolf Thoughts. Funeral in the Mirror is a duo made up of Joe DeRosa and James Pinkstone. This record is a true collaboration between DeRosa and Pinkstone as they shared all musical responsibilities. The two artists came up with the beats, guitar parts, vocals and lyrics. It was a complete joint effort on the part of Joe and James as they unite to bring you one eclectic set.
An interesting fact about DeRosa is that he is actually an accomplished stand-up comedian. He has had thousands of performances all over the U.S. and Joe has also appeared on “Comedy Central Presents”, HBO, Fox News and NBC among others. He even has a debut comedy album coming out soon on Comedy Central Records. So…Joe DeRosa has proven that he is a funny man, but now tries to tackle being a not-so-humorous, serious musician as well. Balancing the two acts should be no problem for this multi-dimensional artist.
The band is named after a line in a Leonard Cohen song, “Dress Rehearsal Rag” and also is a reference to Shudder To Think’s 1991 album Funeral At The Movies. The title is as creatively diverse as the music itself on Old Wolf Thoughts. My favorite part about this new project is the fact that Funeral in the Mirror are messing with sound in ridiculous fashion. The electronic drum beats, which is the core of it all adds in perfectly with all the instrumental effects. When listening to this CD, I feel like I’m surrounded by so much full sound and cool, digital sensations are kicking in from all directions. The use of audio & technology is quite impressive here as Funeral in the Mirror stand true to their title of “computer rock duo”. From a sound standpoint, the record oozes with originality & creativity.
Right from the start on track two, “On Your Way To Hell”, I can’t help but say to myself ‘now we’re talkin’ with electro rock at its finest baby!’. On song seven, “Valentine”, you get a hip ‘n’ moving jam with an all-around nice feel. On “DeEvolution March”, Joe and James get a little psychedelic with a trippy & hypnotic demeanor. I do have some drawbacks though and it has to do with the vocal approach/style meshing with the overall sound. At times, everything jived perfectly like on track eight, “The Chest” that just worked well from all angles. Other times, however, I wasn’t hearing the connection due to a strange singing approach and a definite out-of-the-norm style on tracks such as: “I Feel It” and “Ethel”. I, myself, was completely in tune and digging their music at times but other instances I was honestly a bit lost & confused.
In the end, I think this group is highly talented and have a knack with beats and electronica mojo. The disc even had techno-ish/pop sensibilities that further added to their diversity of sound mixing. Audibly, Joe DeRosa and James Pinkstone nailed it in flawless fashion. As far as the singing parts go, I wasn’t completely sold on all of the vocal sections. Truthfully, I would have loved an album just full of nothing but digital creations; an explosion of sound if you will. I will be highly interested to see where DeRosa and Pinkstone go next as far as taking their music to the next level. For more on Funeral in the Mirror and their new release, Old Wolf Thoughts, SKOPE out www.funeralinthemirror.com.
By Jimmy Rae
[Rating: 3/5]
