Short Reviews [McStine & Minnemann - 2020 - "McStine & Minnemann"]

Marco Minnemann is a drummer’s drummer, who is seemingly able to put his hand to any style of music he wishes to, and as well as playing with Steve Vai, Steven Wilson, and so many others he can also be found in The Mute Gods, The Sea Within, The Aristocrats and now here with Randy McStine. Randy is best-known for Lo-Fi Resistance and The Fringe, and also has a musical who’s who on his CV of who he has played with. This album finds Randy (vocals, guitar, bass keyboards, FX) and Marco (drums, percussion, vocals, guitar, keyboards, FX) having loads of fun as they produce music which while often middle of the road melodic rock, also contains some proggy elements and is incredibly accessible. The drumming is exactly what one would expect from someone who has performed on more than 100 studio albums of different styles, namely he pushes it when the time is right with massive fills, while at others he is incredibly restrained and laid back, just setting the groove and letting Randy grab the mood. This generally sounds like a rock quartet, with additional keyboards and effects used sparingly, yet they mix and blend sounds so that while the bass may be incredibly heavy and Squire-like on one number it can be much further in the distance at others. As they are crossing so many musical boundaries it can be hard to pin down individual influences, but there are times when they provide vocal harmonies so much like City Boy that I find it hard to believe they have not been listening to albums like ‘The Day the Earth Caught Fire’. They shuffle at times, dabble with melodic hard rock at others, always with a very American slant and is always massively accessible. McStine is a strong singer with a very pleasant voice, and his basswork in particular is also incredibly impressive as he locks with Minnemann on complex rhythms to provide solid foundations so that the guitar actually does not have to do much apart from provide emphasis. This is an incredibly polished album which can easily be enjoyed the first time it is played and is one to look out for.