::: Mascara Music :::

MASCARA in the Press, read all about it

THE NOISE Magazine
Boston, MA
April 1998

AUDIODODAHDAY by Butch and Brenda

MASCARA "Square Box Man"/ "Sweet Ann"

What are we to make of Chris Mascara's seeming paradigm shift? Rootlock was about Beefheart and Syd—hyper and mellow and odd. Side a of this one is frantic in a way that's closer to the drummer from Led Zep as fronted maybe by Mink DeVille. Even Mascara's least bent compositions have a distinctive character to them, and the band so skillfully interprets them that no matter how mainstream they may appear to be, they still come across as inimitably quirky. They may never top "No Afterlife," but "Square Box Man," though not their strongest effort, is more accessible than most of their tunes; a good pop song, and radio-friendly, but full of subtleties which come out with each listen. Outstanding. But I reserve my highest praise for the b side, flawed, but brilliant, with its spine-chilling middle-8, its eerie "Frere Jacques" motif, and its baroque, cello-slathered coda; it displays the avant ballad-loving side of the band at its best, and is my pick for Song of the Month for April. *****

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