16
“Zoloft Smile”
(At A Loss Recordings)
Yawn. Snore. Zzzzz. 16 is one of those bands that has been out on the fringes for a while, puttering around California on the brink of something big without every really delivering much. “Zoloft Smile” is no real exception, as 16 sludges their way through a morose ten tracks, all of them a hybrid of stoner rock, wallowing in all of its pedantic boredom.
Cris Jerue’s sallow vocals rumple over the lilting riffs, often at a pace near spoken word which makes me want to just take nap and dream of music that’s got a little kick or a little pop or a little something that doesn’t sound like “Zoloft Smile”. A quick peek at the lyrics from “Poverty” shows why 16 continues to struggle: “Watch me as I leap from the narrow ledge/ Overwhelmed in debt/ Jerk the wheel at high speeds nothing is real.”
Well, hell, make an album with a touch of inspiration and a spark of creativity and those record sales and big contracts will follow. Or not. Whatever. I’m going to bed.
