Review Dysfunctional by Chioce - Travelling in Travel 2008

As the name hints, this band think that they’re not working, and that they’re not doing so by their own choice. So, why doesn’t Dysfunctional by Choice work properly? Well, the way I see it this can be a result from one of the following three alternatives: Either the band is too modest and rather trash themselves than having someone else do it so that they can hear that the name of the band is a good choice (which can be translated into somewhat of a praise) or that the band doesn’t fit them (which also is a way of a praise since they then thinks that the epithet ‘dysfunctional’ isn’t correct); or it can be that the members of the band either isn’t happy with the result of their music or the mood in the band and the band name therefore is their way of saying that they can’t make things work properly so they just put something stupid together and that’s their choise of being “dysfunctional”; or perhaps it’s the third alternative – that a band name isn’t so f*cking important and worth throwing away the first half of a review to discuss! I think I chose a combination of all three and move along instead of harping on the same string this entire review.

The music on ‘Travelling in Travel’ is a very schizophrenic mixture of characters. Almost every song feels as it comes from a different band or at least a different album. This might seem a little bit strange, especially since this is neither a best-of album nor a live album or anything in that fashion. This is the debut album from these French dudes and it probably makes them seem utterly inconsistent, or perhaps they appear to be geniuses, when they release an album like this first. Either way it definitely leaves many doors open for the future since they now hasn’t begun a path on which they have to follow or disappoint and annoy a lot of fans when going another direction. This leaves them with plenty of options and no one can say they have let anyone down since they haven’t really chosen a way to go and also – an album like this will probably attract a very open minded audience, or members of many different hard rock directions.

For me to actually explain what this sounds like would be just as foolish as to describe a mammal – it would be a long line of different descriptions which in the end would be just as schizophrenic as the songs on this album. So, what I will do is lean back in my armchair and say to everyone that this is okay to listen to, but that it is a wide mixture of hard rock with different character where some songs will speak to some more than other, and the other way around. But there is one thing that I can say leaves more to wish from throughout the entire album and that’s the sound (or the mix?). All too often this gets a little clattery and that’s a minus, but this in mind it still stays on approved all the way through.

As a last thing, I’d only like to say one thing: Does crocodiles cry?

HHHHHHH

Written on 11/19/08