With a fresh release due out in early 2013, Jersey’s post-punk group Recovery Council will be touring throughout the winter promoting Plan-Do-Check-Act. On track one, “Bromide,” the sonic imprint of the grungy rock band materializes and the listener very quickly is aware of what they are in for. Hooks that stick, a raw guitar feel, and a bare-bones androgynous vocal style is what you are greeted with. “Pushover,” the song immediately following, has an old school guitar element that rings out over the female vocalist’s notes that just about mirror the melodies of the ‘90s outfit, Hole, without any screaming. The album maintains a garage or basement rock flavor as it plays on.
Metaphoric lyrics of protest are another prominent trademark within the record. The musical intro of “Resolve” has an apparent Nirvana influence, but at this point the whining vocal tone starts to become monotonous. A certain gloom casts a shadow upon each track individually, as these dark undertones reflect the impact on Recovery Council that their influential predecessors had on them. “Recourse,” the sixth number, takes a darker turn musically, incorporating heavier sounds and a slower tempo overall. This cut drags on with no notable highs or lows save for the redeeming nature of their decent guitar playing.
Closing the compilation is “Always Sunny,” a song that is a continuation to the broken down musical style that this group maintains with a heavy bassline and underdone riffs. The mantra of this outfit seems to be undressed, unprocessed music with a realness that is tangible. Essentially, the listener gets what Recovery Council is going for, but the potential of a band that is paying homage to a musical genre from years past is never fully realized.
In A Word: Meager
