Peyoti For President - Rising Tide of Conformity Album Review

Review of Peyoti For President's album Rising Tide of Conformity.

Before putting the CD on, I checked out the plush triptych case and booklet, with its anti- propaganda artwork and rebel rousing statements. A little butterfly of excitement went through my innards and I had the feeling that I was about to listen to something with guts and passion. I've listened through the album a few times now hoping it would grow on me, but unfortunately I still haven't found anything worth listening to again.

It's ironic that I was drawn towards this album because I was interested in what the lead singer Pietro Dimascio had to say, but it was the vocals that turned me off. There were moments when the music was pretty groovy, with some excellent bongo madness and uplifting samba jams that occasionally rock out. But this was tainted by the unconvincing vocals and sloppy composition. This kind of Latino music, if done well, can put me in a real frisky summer mood, however, this album didn't bring the sun out for me. I thought it sounded a bit under finished and quite fragmented with too many different madcap ideas blitzed together to form a really engaging album.

If I was scouring through the world music section of the record store and I stumbled across this CD, it would definitely grab my interest and I would probably buy it, purely because I've judged books (or CD's in this instance) by their cover before and haven't been burned. Since I got my copy for free, I'm not as jaded by the fact that it will be sitting gathering dust in the CD rack until I forget what it sounds like and get the random urge to listen to it again.

I'm glad that there are people out there that are willing to voice their anti-authoritarian opinions about the current political world and speak out to promote liberation of the mind. But. however well intended and passionately themed an album is, the most important thing is how the music makes you feel. With 'Rising Tide of Conformity,' my feelings tended towards despondence.

2/5

Rory Taylor