Bands like Ashes.Are.Nutritious are the reason I hate being a music critic. These boys from the Garden State are musically talented and have the rock star look. Singer Billy Clifton sounds like he should be in front of a microphone. They even have their media-friendly factoid with drummer Craig Lawlor's four-year stint on "As the World Turns," playing Adam Hughes. To make it worse, I wouldn't be surprised if going to one of their shows turned into a sweaty series of blurs ending with a smile, but all this doesn't make their first full-length album Frustration+ good. It just makes me feel bad having to be negative on a young band with real potential. There's a lot less guilt pointing out the faults of millionaires. Paris Hilton, anyone?

Besides lead singer Clifton and Lawlor on the sticks, the band is composed of guitarist Paul Grocz and Gianni Scalise on the bass. Frustration+ was produced and engineered by Billy Graziedei and Danny Schuler of the now deceased genre-bending band Biohazard. The eleven song effort reveals the diversity of their musical chops shifting in winding prog rock ambiance to pounding hardcore. Unfortunately, it is a journey that doesn't necessarily lead to anywhere memorable, and the lyrics are no intellectual match for the music. It isn't easy playing Progressive, and I don't mean because of Bush. The best example of everything good and terrible about prog rock was the incredibly talented King Crimson, who while influential, routinely created seven plus minutes of humorless rock without any pop elements, causing them never to reach a wide audience.

Ashes.Are.Nutritious are smart enough not to be so esoteric, but the instrumental 19-minute final track "Siafu" makes me wonder: Is it a statement that unlike a lot of their peers, they can play more than three chords; or it is it overindulgence, forewarning of future big songs and small crowds? To their credit they do have pop sensibilities and aren't afraid to show it. Lawlor and Scalise do an admirable job as the rhythm section, crafting a wall of sound around Grocz mean rifts. Clifton can sing and scream, but at no point on this album do I ever feel anything. "Purgatory," one of their better tracks, begins with Clifton sounding like Scott Weiland performing a Tenacious D cover.

The lyrics are reaching for Jim Morrison but never attain that level of sincerity. The opening line of "Purgatory" is "Look within yourself to find a deep, dark path that leads to the center of your soul. Along this path you'll be forced to answer several questions. First and foremost when your time comes where will you be? Heaven... Hell... (dramatic pause) Purgatory?" Maybe I'm too cynical, but never was I under their spell enough to keep a straight face through that intro. I tried over and over again, but every time he got to purgatory, my poker mask crumbled into a smirk. During the hour-long disc, there isn't one instance of humor; and never could I fully lose myself in the imagery they were constructing. After listening to this album, I was in the uncomfortable position of wanting to believe the illusion or at least laugh with Ashes.Are.Nutritious but instead was left wondering what went wrong.

I wish I could see these guys live for the full experience before reviewing, but they're playing the Jersey/NYC circuit for the time being. If you're a fan of bands like Tool or Mars Volta, then I would definitely recommend giving them a listen. I, with a heavy heart, give Frustration+ 1 1/2 stars, but they're only a single or two away from being on a radio station near you. Keep your eyes and ears open.  

http://www.myspace.com/ashesarenutritious

Reviewed by Justin La Mort

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