Hurtsmile
might not ring a bell with anyone, but this is the first musical collaboration
between Gary Cherone (Extreme, Van Halen) and his brother Mark. And this is a
big family affair and a coming together of friends from the Boston scene with
Joe Pessia (Bass) and Dana Spellman (Drums) completing the line-up. And as Gary
explains it: "Mark, my brother, was in a band with Nuno's brother... Joe was in
Nuno’s band and Dana was a friend, and student of Mike Mangini (former Extreme
drummer) ... we like to keep it in the family."
Gary's
charismatic and unique voice is easy recognizable and his has put his big fat
fingerprint on the sound, his brother delivers some refreshing guitar work and
the rhythm section lays down some serious grooves and beats. The resemblance to
Extreme is pretty obvious due to the similarities in style and Gary's voice but
it is not like they are a sorry and pale shadow of them, no Hurtsmile has
enough strong songs to stand on their own.
The
self-titled album is a fine sonic sucker punch in the face for fans of East
Coast Hard Rock and I promise you more than one little surprise to pop up on the
album, but do check it out...
