Menthol

March 7 - 14, 1 9 9 6

**1/2 Menthol

MENTHOL

(Capitol)

Like fellow Champaign (Illinois) alterna-rock up-and-comers Poster Children and Hum, Menthol bring a lot of brainpower to a muscular mix that favors hyper-driven guitars and frenetic drumming. But it's the eccentric, sometimes Ziggy Stardust-style dual vocals of guitarist Balthazar de Ley and bassist Joel Spencer, combined with de Ley's penchant for lyrics that come across like a cold fusion of poetry homework and a science-lab project, that give the trio their intriguing edge.

Menthol's homonymous debut opens with guitars buzzing and drummer Colin Koteles pounding out a furious, algebraic beat. On top of that, de Lay delivers a wordy, allegorical, fractured narrative about love and band life in America in a voice so full of nervous energy that you want to try to catch every word as it flies by. As busy as it is, the song still comes around to a simple, hooky chorus. And Menthol pace the rest of the disc well, downshifting into tunes like the mid-tempo and melodic "Dry Heaves (of the Well-Adorned)" and the almost wistful "Bedheaded, Redeyed and Bewildered," a ballad with cheesy synth strings and amusing lyrics like "I felt so presidential as I showed off all my pretty little silicone upgrades in the glare."

-- Matt Ashare

(Menthol headline Bill's Bar this Friday, March 8.)