| Artist: | Dr. Minz and the Chronic Harmonic |
| Title: | Adventures In The Solid World |
| Label: | self produced |
| Length(s): | 52 minutes |
| Year(s) of release: | 1997 |
| Month of review: | 03/1997 |
| 1) | Bullet Proof | 4.21 |
| 2) | Obvious | 4.32 |
| 3) | My Lovely Hovercraft | 4.20 |
| 4) | Evolve | 5.15 |
| 5) | More Than A Biped | 3.38 |
| 6) | Tea For Seven | 2.59 |
| 7) | The Sick Sharks | 4.47 |
| 8) | He's Not Elektric | 3.33 |
| 9) | Going Off To Scarborough | 4.32 |
| 10) | Broken | 3.18 |
| 11) | Grey Matter | 4.45 |
| 12) | Sydney Plastic | 3.02 |
| 13) | Somewhere... | 3.48 |
Having defined as it were the (nonexistent) borders to the music I'm left with deciding whether I like this music. I pride myself on my sense of irony so the lyrics are very appealing to me and forunately it is quite easy to follow the flow of the words.
Musically, I've already compared the band to Zappa, Phish and Primus. The music has some very nice although quircky melodies and one should not buy this album because one is after subtle, beautiful and flowing music. Look somewhere else! The singing is rather accented and typically American one might say singing urrhh instead plain r, but this serves only to enhance the music. This is not a keyboard album to be sure, the drumming is rather busy and sometimes a little neurotic, as with Primus the bass is at times very prominent (but not always) and the guitar seems to be the most important instrument here.
It is often the case that with music like this, it all souds nice to hear a few times, but when it comes down to it, humour isn't a very lasting affair, and if music and lyrics are only made jokingly, liking it very much is very very hard. Fortunately Dr Minz and concorts have succeeded in making a number of songs with attractive and memorable melodies such as Obvious, My Lovely Hovercraft
Evolve is rather straightforward and almost punkrock one might say (well, ... almost). The singing is conspiratory. Tea for Seven has lots of keyboard and sounds a little like 12th Night at times, while Sick Sharks sounds a lot like track 2, Obvious, but the ending is rather seventies like with horns and psyche guitar. More than a biped is rather like Flash and the Pan in the beginning.
He's not elektric is acoustic mostly but not slow. Quirky singing.
Disco/funky sounds pervade Going off to Scarborough but it's not really disco don't worry. The chorus is melodic and for the rest it's mostly a vehicle for lyrics.
Grey Matter starts acoustic with keyboards in the back (or Didgeridoo and clarinet). Feedbackish experimental instrumental.
The closer Somewhere is more or less in the typical Dr Minz vein: rather like Primus in approach.