Music Reviews: CHaMOMILE - "5 Year Nightmare"

CHaMOMILE is a young band out of Bloomington, IN who play riff heavy, DIY style punk rock. And it's pretty damn good too! The band's a 2 piece consisting of Jon on guitar/vocals and Chris on drums. If you're looking for perfectly clear recordings made with top notch production, you're in the wrong place. I've always thought that punk rock should be rough around the edges and in your face. And CHaMOMILE is that band.

The groups latest release "5 Year Nightmare" is 7 fuzzed out rockers that were recorded in the bands basement under damp, muddy circumstances. The album kicks off with "Let Me Out" complete with buzz saw guitars and a heavy drum beat that will have your ears ringing and your heart pounding. And through out the rest of the album this is the style you get. It's what the band has perfected as their own sound, and they show no remorse for their actions. Not that the bands bad...far from it. They just keep it simple with it's approach to playing and writing.

"Indiana Girls" is a nice little ode to the women of the bands home state. Ladies, show some love to these guys...they obviously dig you! "Something To Me" sounds like it was influenced by Nirvana's "Rape Me" with it's soft/heavy juggling sound complete with a guitar solo that would have made Kurt Cobain proud.

"Last Cigarette" closes out this album, which can be downloaded for free on the bands Facebook page, and leaves me unfulfilled and wanting more. Which isn't a BAD thing necessarily. The mark of an amazing band is to make the audience want more! And they have me wanting a LOT more!

I believe CHaMOMILE has promise. The songs are good and the playing is tight. You can tell these guys have their wits about them and have studied the DIY punk rock handbook to the fullest degree. I think that with some time and care these guys could be a really GREAT band instead of an interestingly damn good band. I love the sound, style, songs and attitude. I hope to hear more from this band real soon. Maybe even get em out to Chicago for a couple gigs. If you can still handle it raw, check out CHaMOMILE.

4 / 5 stars