For Walt Mink’s 1996 release El Producto I can’t find a review by Pitchfork, however it appears on every list of “10.0’s” so it’s probably legit. Even Wikipedia doesn’t seem to know much other than that they’re a “indie rock power trio” from St. Paul. In my searches for the review, I found evidence that it was an inside job; Pitchfork knew the band. It’s also noted that it’s the first 10.0 that Pitchfork gave out. Taking all this into account, it all makes sense.
The funny thing though, is that I listened to the album before I read about it. I figured “hey, let’s give this a shot, non-biased.” I knew nothing of the band, and upon a listen I was intrigued, though underwhelmed. The album is an odd Pre-Post-Hardcore (for real). The drums and guitar are super technical and kind of raging, though the voice is a murky mix somewhere between Billy Corgan and Bob Dylan. The bad kind of nasal. The album doesn’t seem to have much predecessor or follower, at least where I’m familiar, but it’s really not super great. Nothing stood out other than the odd sound. El Producto sounded like that one local band from your town that you’d swear up and down is going to be the next big thing because of their super-unique [sic] sound and energy. Walt Mink certainly conveys energy and has an interesting sound…but it just doesn’t do it for me. The songwriting is kind of stale though technical and seemingly well-meaning. Without incrimination, they seem like a band that I’d be a member of: pretty solid songwriting with a heaping side of arrogant technical nonsense.
What’s really unfortunate, and maybe prevents this album from being really awesome is how dated it sounds. The guitars have that mid-90’s crunch and the drums and vocals sit adequately in the mix but don’t make much of a statement. This seems like the missed opportunity; the band perhaps didn’t sell out enough and lands not far enough away from the mainstream to become relevant but not close enough to profit. Also unfortunate is the immature sound. They seem to have all the tendencies of Post Hardcore without the fun stuff. No screaming, no really wacky time signatures, nothing really inventive; instead Walt Mink plays music that’s just technical enough to outshine the punk kids and just catchy enough for me to keep listening.
No need to really download this one, check out some of the stuff on the ‘tube or google. Their energy is obvious, but there’s only so much of the “hardcore-drummer-fill” that I can take before my interest wanes. The album was alright; clearly not a ten. El Producto lacks the transcendence and relevance, and really just seems dated and boring.
[This is what I get for going with something that I thought would broaden my horizons...back to the familiar...The Soft Bulletin tomorrow!]
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