I remember the first time I heard Osker...My friend played me the song "Patience" off of

Idle Will Kill and within seconds I told him to "turn that shit off." I couldn't stand the

nasal-y vocals and the way the sentences didn't flow the way my ears wanted them to. I realized that there’s just something “quirky” about Devon William’s songwriting/playing that needs some getting used to. Once your ears adjust though, you can’t get enough. After Osker called it quits a while back, Devon kind of fell out of the public eye. Fingerscut is his triumphant return!

Even though this is the first "proper" release by Fingers-cut Megamachine, there are several seven-inch singles and a demo collection that are out on small, but not too obscure, labels. That having been said; this is a very solid debut that is nearly perfect in my book. One of the only disappointing things about this release is that nearly half of it has already been out in one way or another for nearly two years now. Three of the songs are available for download at the Fingercuts website and early versions of "testament" and "laughs per minute" have been on each of his previous records. "Do you hear wedding bells?" was also featured on a radio show that was floating around the World Wide Web for a bit too. These newer and more focused recordings are definitely worth a listen though! Whereas the older releases have had instrumentation that changed from song to song, the sounds on this record are considerably consistent. Acoustic guitars provide the rhythm for electric leads and Williams' vocals as solid and simple drums fill out the rest. Plus, there are never two slow songs in a row. This keeps the record moving and all eleven songs get their turn through the speakers. What really makes me play this record over and over are the vocals. Often times there is more than one voice singing things like “ sometimes I’d rather be a good memory, but I won’t be there to comfort you “-one singing in his lower register and the other rising above everything else to a very "sing-along-able" volume! These are all "feel good" songs of hope and wonder and I suggest you listen to it in the car while driving to your girlfriend/boyfriend's house. You'll already be smiling.

- Scott Moore

/sept 1st 2005/