In the same batch as The Tattoist, was a CD from a band called SolidTube, another unknown product and so no preconceptions about it. Here is what I thought about it:

If I’d had to guess where this band comes from I would have run through at least 50 countries before going for Austria. Even now I find it hard to believe they are not American. Unfortunately the most interesting things about this CD are the band’s origins and the way the album came into being, because although its full of competent playing and inoffensively accessible songs it is not really special.

Quite a few tracks are decent Southern blues/rock songs, but the one that stands out for me, that I am most likely to find myself choosing to listen to again is Welcome To Africa – a much more folky and European-sounding song.

The album starts well with a couple of strong songs. Know Me, the opening track has a sort of Rolling Stones vibe to begin with, and along with the second track (Crusade) would not sound entirely out of place on a Robert Rodriguez film soundtrack.

My attitude to this album is that I’ll be quite happy to have the whole CD on my mp3 player and if any of the tracks pop up on a shuffle I’m not likely to skip it – but I probably won’t be putting it on any playlists.

That’s just my own personal opinion though, and obviously a lot of others are more enthusiastic than I am. The album is part of the Sellaband promotion, where punters put up cash for artists they enjoy and when enough individuals have put up enough cash it is used to finance a recording. The fact that a CD has come out of it means that quite a few people have liked it enough to put their money where their mouth is (or ears are?) so a reasonable indication that the end result will not be totally unappealing.

The whole Sellaband concept is quite interesting though. Its a site worth looking at – you can listen to a wide variety of unknown artists, download free tracks, and if you find anyone you really like you can buy a part of them.  When enough ‘shares’ are sold ($50k) the money finances a recording and the ‘shareholders’ get a copy and can share in profits.