Shmat Records
Shmat Recordsad spacer
ad spacer
fun fact
Dragonflies have a lifespan of 4-7 weeks.

shmat friends


questions?

If you have burning questions, please visit the FAQ or contact the Shmat.

reviews
Archives:  #-B | C-F | G-K | L-N | O-S | T-Z | ALL | SEARCH

Shmat's Reviews
For more reviews, please visit Palebear which is where all future Shmat reviews will appear (as of March 2006).

The Koala Bear Syndrome
Untitled Demo (CD-R)


The Koala Bear Syndrome. They've got a funny and cutesy name, but are they a force to be reckoned with? Well, the music is pretty good, at times a sort of blend of Death Cab and Heatmiser (and in fact Pete Shapiro reminds me a lot of Neil Gust). But I had some problems with the style of vocals, though it's not far off from a lot of the typical bands they play on the radio today. It's just very, very emotive... almost to the point of parody. Every ending vocal line on the first song has this airplane landing type of whine that started to bug me after awhile. The flanging on the guitar is sort of fun on the second song and the distortion pretty much fits the bill. But I didn't really hear the references to shoe-gazing genre that was mentioned on the website. I like when this band distorts out (dare I say grunges out) much more then when they're laid back, it seems to fit them better. The third song on the demo, "New and Improved" really blisters the paint of the walls and feels like the correct direction to go in. If you can't beat the emo kids, join em'.


- review by SHORTY (8.3.04)        

Pete Shapiro
contact@koalabearsyndrome.com
www.koalabearsyndrome.com/



25 Random Reviews

9.4.04  Pants Yell!
2.27.05  Under Shooting Stars
4.7.03  Boxborough
9.2.03  Kingsauce
7.28.04  The Catheters
6.29.04  Morning Spy
3.18.05  Driver Of The Year
11.19.03  American Analog Set
4.21.04  The Lil' Kickers
7.7.03  The Like Young
3.26.05  The Drop Scene
10.5.03  The Det Chords
10.14.04  Abattoir 3000
8.13.04  The Capstan Shafts
4.22.05  Cholo
2.18.05  St. Etienne
1.13.05  Slomo Rabbit Kick
2.12.04  Driver Of The Year
5.17.03  Rainer Maria
1.9.04  Pants Yell!
10.22.04  Kevin Huelbig, Jr.
9.1.04  Paradigm9
2.14.06  La Rocca
7.21.04  L.A. Tool And Die
12.7.04  The Marlboro Chorus