Graverobbers Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea CD

This Arlington, VA, band hones in on a sound that elusively slips around between styles of rock as if it was a time machine with a few loose fuses. One moment it's a roots rock sound, the next a tight, nervous new wave beat, then a fuzzbox kicks in around a catchy melody and it is almost like pre-Nirvana grunge. This set of songs suffers from excessive repetition of several devices that would have come across as more clever if used less frequently. And as a whole, the songs sound too similar to each other, almost like a continuing story that the listener might not want to hear the end of. The voice of leader Karl Straub is really beautiful, though, often bringing a song amazingly to life from one breath to the next. Several standout tracks are worthy of attention, especially the dark, disturbing "Acid Black" and the lyrically captivating "Rock Salt." ~ Eugene Chadbourne

Karl Straub (lead singer and songwriter for the Graverobbers) is a D.C. area songwriter whose material has been covered by numerous artists, including Last Train Home, Mary Battiata and Little Pink, the Grandsons, Mark Noone,Virginia Coalition, Kevin Johnson, the Kennedys, Cowlick Lucy, Eugene Chadbourne, and Lee Wilhoit. His songs have been performed everywhere from open mikes to Wolf Trap, the Birchmere, and the Kennedy Center, and reportedly a festival in Antarctica. Straub's cult following includes cross dressers, rednecks, and sushi chefs, as well as many musicians and children, (most of whom remember his lyrics better than he does).

Producers: John Alagia, Doug Derryberry, Karl Straub.

The Graverobbers: Karl Straub, David Pera (vocals, guitar); Jim Gray (bass); Matt Cook (drums, percussion).

Additional personnel: Martin Lynds (percussion).