Misc. Ailments, Otro Mundo, and Napoleon Complex

Artist: Misc. Ailments
Song: “Brand New Day” (from sandiegoreader.com/mp3)
Heard by: Ryan Aragon, Phoenix, AZ
It was definitely something different. To me, it had a Latin beat mixed with alternative music. It almost had an Incubus feel to it. Singing-wise, if he was rapping, they would have been pretty similar to Incubus. They were actually pretty decent musicians. I would have preferred a heavier distortion. The song was very bass dominant. It might sound better if they mixed it to where the bass wasn’t so prominent. On the first verse, there was a vocal harmony, and if they turned that up, it would have sounded a lot better. I think they could be pretty successful. It was definitely catchy. If they keep on truckin’, they definitely could go somewhere.

Artist: Otro Mundo
Song: “Gypsy Tears” (from sandiegoreader.com/mp3)
Heard by: Jimmy Coats, Fallbrook
It was a lot different than most of what’s out now that I’ve heard. It didn’t really have words to it, so you could pretty much play it anytime. The beat wasn’t so quick that you couldn’t just relax to it, but it wasn’t so slow that you’d be limited to what you could do with it. It was actually quite new. Most of what I’ve listened to before — Guns N’ Roses, Garth Brooks, Alice Cooper, the Eagles — there were parts that could be matched to almost all of them. It was a style all its own. It had a very good beat. I could tell there were stringed instruments, an accordion, and some bells. I would definitely be interested in finding them on CD. For quality overall, I would give them a 10 out of 10.

Artist: Napoleon Complex
Song: “Even If We Wear Bullet Proof Vests” (from sandiegoreader.com/mp3)
Heard by: David Pasquini, La Mesa
There’s an opening riff, and it’s the same riff they close with at the end, which I thought was pretty good. There was a ‘70s vibe to it, and then it was kind of like White Stripes meets Red Hot Chili Peppers. It was a good, catchy song. There was a regular ol’ pentatonic guitar solo, and then it had a tremolo picking part in there that was pretty cool. It was kind of dirty and grungy, which is why I mentioned the White Stripes. I could see that as something that would be on the radio if it was a little more polished. It was upbeat. That would be a good song for driving back from the nightclub when everyone’s a little tipsy. A song to puke out of your car to.