Customer Reviews

My Big Hero

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was instantly enamored with this album. 12 Rounds has 3 fantastic things going for them: 1. Their utterly twisted lyrics--they're evil and, as another reviewer rightly put it, demented! At times they are even inviting, until a sudden turn is made that transforms the song into a horrifying image (as it was in 2 Miles). 2. Claudia's vocals--She has a voice that sounds edgy, sophisticated, and a bit childlike at the same time. Its uniqueness really adds to the already surreal air of the music. It can be shrill, seductive, mocking, or cold; it blends with the music perfectly. 3. The music is beautifully dark and disturbed, and for me, a couple of tracks bordered on being the platonic form of dark electronic/gothic music--most notably track 9--Me Again. This is a likely candidate for NIN fans, but I'll go out on a limb and say that Cranes fans might also like this one, because to me it felt like a magnificent cross between the two. I'd suspect that Curve listeners enjoy a considerable overlap with 12 Rounds as well. This is a solid debut album with an already perfectly-formed sound--this band can only get better!

Sometimes something is released that is so utterly intoxicating in its ability to captivate and yet it is so utterly ignored that a listener finds themselves incapable of understanding the exact nature of the industry. Be it a trend spun from the straw of bad marketing campaigns (or the lack of them), or simply a lack of connection with the consumer, these little gems are treasure destined to be lost and forgotten by all save those lucky enough to find them, much to the chagrin of those wishing for a lot more. Such is the case with 12 rounds, an unfortunate victim of Nothing Record's veritable lack of remorse when it comes to any of the label's understudy acts, as can be seen with so many of their signed bands. Still, does this truly measure the worth of the performer and the wonders they generate?

To say that 12 rounds has a style all their own is an understatement inside and understatement and, in some respects, doesn't go far enough into the realms of the descriptive. Here we find a combination of genres and subclassifications, going from hellbilly and blues to more solidified versions of carnival music on psychotropics. These blend with lyrics ranging from the entrancingly bizarre to the utterly sadistic that are hidden behind the mask of Claudia Sarne's extremely intoxicating voice, managing to crisscross through the sometimes beautiful and sometimes brutal while proclaiming a vast array of things that seem almost frightening to hear from such an invigorating spring. To me that is one of the perpetual beauties of this work; its ability to grant its audience servings of something that strays beyond the realm of the mundaneness often plaguing music, and one of the reasons I recommend it highly. Personally, I like to find myself enamored and shocked at the same time.

If nothing else, I would suggest that a person go and look for something to listen to from this album and, if they don't like what they hear, go and ingest something else from the same work because of the complexity of it all. Also, if one can find it, I would further recommend they check out "Jitter Juice," a release that seems buried in the past and is actually hard to locate, as well as looking into their website for new releases (such as some soundtrack work) that they have planned.

this is what I want in an album, moodiness, a little bit of industrial, a little goth, a little jazz and a little psychobilly.....over all my favorite cd in my collection!!

An underrated yet very solid debut, "My Big Hero" is a delicious dark album that manages to be hypnotic, gripping and somewhat unique. This strangely captivating group of songs carry a claustrophobic and deep atmosphere, combining risky electronic soundscapes with an haunting yet addictive female voice. Released under Trent Reznor`s (Nine Inch Nails) label Nothing Records, this album is an enticing and interesting effort. Almost scary at parts due to its somewhat depressing mood (the unusual and memorable lyrics help a bit), "My Big Hero" is a record that recalls bands like Garbage (even if 12 Rounds are far darker), Curve, Lamb, Cranes, Sneaker Pimps or even some Marilyn Manson material. Unfortunately, this peculiar debut is terribly overlooked, even if it provides an absorbing meld of goth/trip-hop/industrial/rock/electronica that deserves a listen.

An unnoticed gem worth discovering.

This CD is very solid. Excellent basslines and wonderful female vocals. Highly recommended. If you are going to download a track to get a taste of it first I would recommend either Bovine or My Big Hero.

There's something creepy about 12 Rounds' "My Big Hero," which sounds like what would happen if Stereolab suddenly started making Halloween soundtracks. The music itself is a mix of eerie acoustics and ghostly trip-hop, but the nasal vocals leave a bad taste in the... well, the ear.

A heartbeat opens the album, followed by metallic twangs, before blossoming into the eerie "Come On In Out of the Rain." After a screeching electric opener, 12 Rounds switches to ballads with "Pleasant Smell," and the ethereal "My Big Hero." At the midway point, things switch gears.

After that, there's also swirling dancepop that retains the haunted feel, like "Sunshine" and the bouncy "Where Fools Go." Not to mention the metal-edged rock of "Something's Burning." And in the second half, there's a handful of indescribable songs like the weirdly eerie "2 Miles" or the sinister "Bovine," where vocalist Claudia Sarne lets rip with some howls, followed by an operatic soprano wail.

12 Rounds is a bit hard to categorize -- there are elements of pop, rock, metal, and electronica all woven together. Sure, there's a cute tinkly little piano, but there are also those searing guitar riffs in the very same song. It gives it all a very gothic, twisted feeling, like a haunted house that manages to be both beautiful and evil.

The music has a deceptively raw quality, with distortion and wavers mixed in, like the earsplitting feedback that rips out in "Pleasant Smell." The electric guitar work is quite solid, turning into a frenzied dance one moment and then a dark, steady trudge. The piano is the best of all, a faint tinkly presence that reminded me of the Dresden Dolls.

Sarne's voice is one of the drawbacks. It tends to be rather nasal at times, which is less noticeable in the heavier tracks, but in the lighter ones it's painfully obvious. But the songwriting is excellent -- it's ghastly, grisly and strangely humorous. It's pop for vampires, about blood and pain.

The horrific lyrics and solid musicianship make this an amusing listen, but Sarne's nasal vocals take some getting used to. An interesting listen, but very flawed.

This is the kind of music your grandmother would make if she was evil... evil in that kind-of-smiley way... extremely pale blue eyes,.... her clothes are old victorian lacework outfits, dusty and spiderweb ridden... and she's always hanging around up in her pitch-black attic with her victrola, sharpening her vintage silverware knives and talking/cackling to herself about manners... she also loves to dance, drink absynth, and sing in a raspy way that you could swear was sexy if you closed your eyes. Spppoooooky... good stuff, this is the kind of moody music that captures the way that I used to feel around Halloween when I was a little kid. Sorely underrated. Check it out.

Much like fellow Nothing Records artist Prick (Kevin McMahon), 12 Rounds is a band whose style is hard to pin down. Their experiments in crossing multiple genres succeeds surprisingly well, launching their songs into unexpected, seductive beauty. It took me a while to warm up to the female vocals, but once I did this became a very impressive album. Recommended. Fans of Switchblade Symphony might get an extra charge out of it.

Ok, I have to be honest. I wasn't that impressed the first time I listened to it. I'm like that sometimes. But I'm cool. Second time around, I dig, I dig. : )

Seriously, it has some very memorable songs on it. And really... that's all I can say, because the songs are simply indescribable. But good. Very good. Just give it a chance.

Well, first off I must say that I was pretty surprised at how good this cd actually is. I'd heard some good things about it from my grandma, but I don't really like her taste of music, so I headed to the local record store and bought it, a highlight would be "Pleasant Smell" (is good ya?) I recommend this disc to anyone who...