Viberate

Amazon.com
Crunchy guitars, sexy female vocals, and an unthreatening but cool- sounding dollop of programming--it's a formula that's been seducing record buyers at least since Garbage's 1995 debut. But there's always room for one more, especially if the songs have the hooks and the singer has the sauce. On Viberate, Joydrop's follow-up to its 1999 debut, Metasexual, vocalist Tara Slone definitely has the brass to pull off the required tough-but-tender vocals, but only some of the songs leave a lasting impression.

The first three tracks in particular--"Thick Skin," "American Dreamgirl," and "Sometimes Wanna Die"--find that perfect combination of driving hard-rock crunch and catchy pop melody. Alas, those are also the first three songs on the disc, and a noticeable drop in quality follows. Still, the band comes up with a few more worthwhile moments, chiefly, the catchy chorus of "Swan Song" and the robotic stomp of "Replaced." And Slone's vocal on the title track drips with saucy sarcasm. A couple of uninteresting ballads and tunes seemingly built around guitar effects ensure the derivative Viberate won't change the world, but the best moments keep it from being consigned to the trash heap. - -Shawn Conner

Viberate,Joydrop,Tommy Boy,Alternative Pop/Rock,Pop,Rock,Rock/Pop

Viberate

Average customer rating:

Tara is great!
Tara is great!
I seem to be caught in the middle
NOTHING COMPARES!!
i must be missing something

Viberate
Joydrop
Manufacturer: Tommy Boy
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Metasexual
5:30 Saturday Morning
Angelfish
Damaged Goods
Zerospace

ASIN: B00005LN1X
Release Date: 2001-07-17

Tracks:

Thick Skin
American Dreamgirl
Sometimes Wanna Die
Life On The Sun
Swan Song
Replaced
Viberate
This Is Not Real
Expiry Dates
Do You Believe
Embrace
Metasexual

Amazon.com

Crunchy guitars, sexy female vocals, and an unthreatening but cool- sounding dollop of programming--it's a formula that's been seducing record buyers at least since Garbage's 1995 debut. But there's always room for one more, especially if the songs have the hooks and the singer has the sauce. On Viberate, Joydrop's follow-up to its 1999 debut, Metasexual, vocalist Tara Slone definitely has the brass to pull off the required tough-but-tender vocals, but only some of the songs leave a lasting impression.

The first three tracks in particular--"Thick Skin," "American Dreamgirl," and "Sometimes Wanna Die"--find that perfect combination of driving hard-rock crunch and catchy pop melody. Alas, those are also the first three songs on the disc, and a noticeable drop in quality follows. Still, the band comes up with a few more worthwhile moments, chiefly, the catchy chorus of "Swan Song" and the robotic stomp of "Replaced." And Slone's vocal on the title track drips with saucy sarcasm. A couple of uninteresting ballads and tunes seemingly built around guitar effects ensure the derivative Viberate won't change the world, but the best moments keep it from being consigned to the trash heap. - -Shawn Conner

Customer Reviews:

Tara is great!.......2005-09-06

I learned of Tara through INXS Rockstar and then learned of Joydrop after she was dropped from that competition (very shockingly, IMO). I really liked her and she is definitely a hottie (she looked AWESOME when she did the rock chick thing singing Paranoid). Being a fan of many rock and pop female artists (artists from Garbage to Kylie to Gwen to Pat Benatar to Berlin to Alanis to Avril to Kelly Clarkson), so what Tara does is right up my alley. She should have hung around in the INXS competition much longer than she did... and I hope the exposure will help her in whatever project comes next. As for this CD... I really like it alot... American Dreamgirl (written by Tara) is awesome... Thick Skin is great... and the rest totally grow on you... cannot do wrong with this purchase... I wore it out listening to it over and over working around the house this weekend... each time it ended I just hit play again and kept going.

Tara is great!.......2005-09-06

I seem to be caught in the middle .......2004-08-05

I loved Joydrop's first album, Metasexual, and thought the musicianship to be amazing but I also felt the lyrics to be a tad mediocre. However, here on Viberate, their sophmore release, I notice an improvement in the writing but the music in general doesn't do much for me in terms of growth. In fact it's a little less experimental and they seem to stay within basic grounds here, which can tend to be boring (I personally enjoy diversity). But despite all that, if Joydrop were to ever come out with another record I'd probably buy it still, simply because they for sure have potential and are capable of making some really catchy pop-rock melodies with Tara Slone's fickle vocals changing from sweet and light to playful yet vigorous (I've decided not to use the word aggressive because I wouldn't want to mislead anyone into thinking she's a screamer), but I felt this could have been a lot better. It starts out promising with tracks 1, 2, 3 and 5 but the rest lack in luster until you reach number 11.

The material here is a mixed bag of hits and misses but if you can find it cheap and used than it's definitely worth a couple spins.

NOTHING COMPARES!!.......2004-07-20

WOW!!... after reading all of the reviews, I can't imagine how MOST of you guys only liked a few of the songs on the Metasexual CD...I think the WHOLE CD is so remarkable. Tara Sloane kicks serious ass w/ her amazing voice and the rest of the band really gets you into each and every song!! I'll admit, you have to listen to the whole CD when you are in easy going frame of mind because once it hits you...you'll never take it out of your CD player! JOYDROP I KNOW YOU'RE NOT TOGETHER BUT SHOULD ONE OF YOU READ THIS...THANK YOU FOR 2 MOST AMAZING ALBUMS!!!

i must be missing something.......2004-07-14

I'm kinda suprised this album got such great ratings. There must be something in it I just dont feel. I like the first 3 songs on the CD: Thick Skin, American Dreamgirl, and Sometimes Wanna Die....Sometimes Wanna Die is an AWESOME song, American Dreamgirl has very clever lyrics, and Thick Skin has an awesome beat to it, besides that though, i just dont know what happened after that. The rest of the songs just kind of all blend it together and i dont strongly hate them, but i dont like them enough to listen to them over and over. Everyone else who rated this seeemd to like it, so again maybe im just more disappointed in myself that i just dont get it...i tried getting into this CD but something is just missing...it didnt work for me. My advice to anyone thinking of buying this, if you've only heard the first 3 tracks and your thinking of buying the CD, check out or download the other songs from this album before you buy it, because for me, this wasnt one of the greatest albums i've heard.