The Actomatics are a quintet out of Longwood, FL fronted by vocalist/keyboardist Shadow Pearson. The instruments are covered by four gentlemen; Rick Thomas (drums), Rich Hewitt (bass), Jamie Wright (rhythm guitar), and John Lathrop (lead guitar).
Whether or not you like the Actomatics will probably come down to how you feel about Pearson’s vocals. Personally, I enjoy them; they give the songs more uniqueness. For example, album opener “Lighthouse” instrumentally has a ZZ Top rocking vibe, but the vocals give it more of an alternative sound rather than the southern rock sound you would get out of a more conventional vocalist. However, I also have a feeling that people might be turned off by her tone as well.
All of the songs on 10 Stories are pretty good. They’re fresh and well written, but with a more familiar sounding vocalist they would be fairly standard I think. The Actomatics do show some range on the release, but I wish they would have continued down the path that starts the album a bit more. The opening couple of tracks are more up tempo and rocking, but then the album moves to a more mid-tempo, pop rock feel for the most part. It’s good for some of the songs, but looses the excitement 10 Stories begins with. All of the songs are fine for a band playing some shows in the local bar, but when The Actomatics rock more, they seem to bring more to the table. If they focused more of the album in this area I think they’d get a good response.
Hot Tracks: Lighthouse, Actomatic, 10 Stories
Kevin Kozel- Sr. MuzikReviews.com Staff
July 6, 2010
