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 Bumblefoot - Uncool [Hermit - 2001]Bumblefoot is a band formed around the talented guitarist Ron Thal. 'Uncool' is the second album by this amazing band, and on this record they pretent to be a re-formed 70´s lounge act with hopes of making a big comeback in the new century. Besides Ron Thal we have Joe on drums and Frank on bass. One thing that stands out is the amazing songwriting. There are a lot of different genres present on this album, from hardcore, metal, gangster rap, country, lounge to ethnic and funky pop music. With all these different influences, the album sounds quite diverse and because of that it keeps interesting till the last song ends. Uncool opens with a loungy intro and then jumps into the second track 'Go', which has some small Faith No More and Rage Against The Machine influences. Of course Bumblefoot give this song their own twist and makes this track really stand out. It´s one of the most heaviest on the album. The third track 'T Jonez' for instance is totally different. It starts as a poppy lounge track, but than some heavy guitars kick in and we hear Ron 'scatting to his guitar lines with a vocal imitation of a trombone', which clearly is described in the booklet.After the rock 'n roll song 'Crunch' we get to hear 'I Hate Me More Than I Love You'. This is a fine example of how you can mix pop with metal, rap and lounge (they even use a flute) succesfully. This might sound quite strange, but actually, it´s not, the songs flows quite well and this makes it one of my favourite tracks on the album together with 'Delilah'. That´s another poppy track where you can hear how Ron is capable of doing some amazing vocals. Just like the secret song between 'Heart Attack' and 'Girl Like You', where he does a fine job singing a track which would easily fit in a Broadway musical or on a Queen album.No matter what genre the band is playing, all of the songwriting is perfect. Only one small thing that bothers me is the sound from the keyboards. At some times they sound quite synthetic, not real. I almost get the impression it was intended this way, so it fits with the whole 70´s lounge atmosphere. Well, besides this minor detail, I love 'Uncool' and if you aren´t afraid of variation, you should get this album as soon as possible.  Niels van Rongen
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|  | | Bumblefoot - Uncool | Bumblefoot is a band formed around the talented guitarist Ron Thal. 'Uncool' is the second album by this amazing band, and on this record they pretent to be ...
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