REVIEW: Finneus Gauge "More Once More"

[Dave Reid]

Finneus Gauge
"More Once More"
Train Records

The lights are out in my apartment, the living room is lit by candle
light, and the only sound I can hear is the whine of my CD Player
closing. As the door closes and the disc begins to spin I am whisked
away to a time when Wanye's World was popular, a time when Tia Carrera
could cover "Ballroom Blitz," a time much more y
outhful and free than
toda
y. Allow me to introduce you to Finneus Gauge, a band that has
combined the rock epic of Rush, the pop keys of The Doors, the guitar
solos of Eric Johnson, and the vocal range of Queen's Freddy Mercury.

Lead by vocal diva Laura Martin, Finneus Gauge swoops from track to
track in my disc player giving me just enough time to blink in between
tunes. The deeper I got into this album the more I began to miss those
times and begin to understand what the band is trying to do. A 90's
spin on a familiar formula is usually a tried and true method for
airplay, and in most cases makes sense because it was the bread and
butter we were raised upon. In this case the length of the tunes is
great for a full length listen, but for single formatable play I doubt
a seven minute song is getting on a album oriented rock station.

Finneus' sound is pioneered by the brothers Buzby, John and Chris on
drums and Keys, as well as Chris Eike on Bass and Scott Mcgill on the
smoking electric guitars. It is rare to hear such a well versed group
that has yet to "make it" on the scene, and I think the reason for
that is the songs are too strong. "More Once More" and "Finding the
Strength" are tunes that keep on rocking, but the music draws away
from Laura Martin's lyrical prowess, whereas a tune like "King of
Chord Change" is an entire song dedicated to the mastery of the band's
tools. All in all they are a fun, sit down and listen to band, but I
am not too certain how serious I took the band as the candles slowly
dimmed. It was at that point I turned down the tunes and put on some
parachute pants!

Eric Hultgren

This review is from Issue 2, Year 3 of 181.4 Degrees from the Norm!
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