Dan Potthast - Eat the Planet (Pre-Release)

Alright I'll attempt to keep this review short since I've already mentioned this album in the first post I made.

Dan P's third release right now is self released; and sadly can only be bought when you see him in concert. So I guess that means don't expect to get one soon if you missed his last tour. BUT! The wait will be worth it if you get a hold of it, and you certainly should get it if you see him in concert.

This album is more the middle ground of Eyeballs and Sweats and Meats. The full band idea is back, but he still keeps a semi acoustic sound. Also its more Ska like eyeballs instead of that experimental sound of Sweats and Meats. This simply means its rock solid.
In the linear notes that explain how he started the writing process, the recording process etc.
Apparently all the parts are loop tracks (besides vocals and guitar of course), which without telling me this I'm not sure I would of known. Dan is certainly good at what ever he does and this is no exception. He states that he will be re-recording the album with a real band for the final release. He does not really say if the vocals and guitar would be redone but I can only imagine so. Meaning this album is a good collectors item as well cause you may never hear these versions again. I also find myself surprised how good this album is. It sounds very good for just being recorded on a computer and using loop tracks. Another sweet thing is you get 3 Spitzer songs and 4 unreleased past songs by Dan. All good songs, I really like Set Your Alarm by Spitzer; its a sweet track and catchy.
The song writing is solid and I doubt you would be disappointed. The album doesn't open as strong as it probably should but Fan is still a decent song, but maybe the second track Deep Blue should open as its fun, catchy, and full of energy.
A lot of the songs are written about inanimate objects, creating some story that almost seems deeper then it may be. Dan takes in the notes most of this happened when he would get stuck and would just start writing about things around him. I don't know many artists that can do that, well even; I certainly can't.
None of the songs are similar really, they all follow their own idea. A rarity in a lot of Ska where some of the song follow the same pattern as the last song but with new lyrics and melody. This is to be expected from Dan and I'm glad it stays true on this album.
If you haven't figured it out yet I love this album. There are only two problems I actually have with this album. Even though I know this is a DIY album and a pre-release the CD it self is terrible. Its just a standard Magnavox CDR with really sloppy hand writing. The cover is done well for a xerox, kinda cleaver. The only other thing is that Dan pushes his vocals on a few tracks more then he should; maybe its because of the semi raw recording that I notice. But these don't hinder anything really, its solid (have I said that yet?).

A

Coming up - Band You May Not of Heard of: No Outlet (review and interview!)