Used Alien Mind- The Placement Aside

ARTIST: Used Alien Mind
ALBUM: The Placement Aside
LABEL: Zonked Records
REVIEWER: Matthew J.
DATE: 10-27-07

Eccentricity and eclecticism, or random weirdness, to be a bit blunter, are commendable qualities in a musician, but sometimes they can get in the way. Used Alien Mind's Mike Leporte is a good example. His second album throws together everything from beatnik spoken word on "Phase One Complete" to meandering space rock on "Dazed Mutations," but instead of feeling gloriously strange the album just comes across as jumbled. He's at his best when he's actually playing rock songs; "Your Sad Eyes" is a high point, with an appealing fuzziness that recalls late-period Jesus and Mary Chain, and "Movie Star Life" is an appealingly raucous take on psychedelic garage rock. "Soul Hit One Time" isn't bad, either; more sketch than song, it consists mainly of looped catch-phrases echoing back and forth across multiple channels, but it's underscored by a rhythm infectious enough to inspire irony-free finger-snapping. The catchy rock moments, unfortunately, are too brief and too easy to miss amidst the seemingly endless parade of effects-drenched guitars meandering every which way and spoken-word sections that stream from Leporte's consciousness without really connecting to anyone else's. Strip it down to 40 minutes or so, and this would be a great little exercise in experimental rock; unedited, it goes on for over an hour, and that's just too much sound with too little substance.

Check out Used Alien Mind on MySpace at www.myspace.com/usedalienmind.