The Terms – Small Town Computer Crash / 2005 Maple Jam / 11 Tracks / http://www.thetermsmusic.com / Reviewed 09 January 2006

Imagine a mixture of Danzig and The Psychedelic Furs, and one has the beginning idea of what The Terms sound like. The disc’s first track “Neutron Bomb” has a decidedly eighties sound to it, but The Terms do it well, keeping some of the flare of the era with a freshness of arrangement that is more of a hallmark of the current period. Continuing the retro bandwagon with “Outlier”, The Terms show that they are not purveyors of one specific style in an era; this sound on the track is much more based in Midge Ure and The Cranberries than anything specifically eighties.

Each of the tracks on “Smalltown Computer Crash” could conceivably be heard on an alternative radio station, and would most likely be followed by a “that song sounds familiar” from all listening. The nuanced stylings of “Big City Concrete Wildflowers” really elicits a high level of emotion through instrumental repetition; the stripped-down style of The Terms during the track make the vocals here as succinct and hard-hitting as anything that Chris Isaak could ever come up with. “Langlonglen” is a track that takes its sweet time starting up, and the nuanced style (thankfully) leads into an environment in which shrill guitars match well with the melodramatic emotion shown by the vocals. The next real hit for The Terms happens in “Ugly”, a track that has a memorable chorus and an ever-present bass line.

This hit is innocuous and really marks a step up from The Terms, which do have the tendency to grab at the straws of different genres but not necessarily turn them into the next big thing. “Ugly” may just be that next step, that song that will be played ad nauseam all summer. “Ransom Groove” is another change for The Terms, a move into a lightly-covered bit of pop-country that is reminiscent of 1992, when movies like Natural Born Killers and artists like the late Johnny Cash and the aforementioned Chris Isaak were at the height of popularity. Even at nearly six minutes, “Ransom Groove” is a track that crackles in energy and keeps individuals interested in The Terms, even at this late stage of the disc. There is a professional sound to “Small Town Computer Crash” that shows The Terms as ready to play in the big leagues, but there is some serious space for improvements before their entire disc could be full of hits like “There She Was”.

Top Tracks: Big City Concrete Wildflowers, There She Was

Rating: 6.2/10

[JMcQ]