UNIKORN ON THE COB

3.5 stars. Just a little bit of history first. When ECHOLYN disbanded in 1996 after the way they were treated by the Sony record label, Chris Buzby their keyboardist formed FINNEUS GUAGE. John Buzby his brother was on drums, while Scott McGill was the guitarist, and they released two studio albums. Then ECHOLYN got back together, and FINNEUS GUAGE was no more. John Buzby would then form LAND OF CHOCOLATE but he didn't want to play the drums so he's the keyboardist here.

They released this 60 minute debut in 2001and yes that really is the album cover they came up with. I do prefer this to the next one "Regaining The Feel" but I feel that the second FINNEUS GUAGE record "One Inch Of The Fall" beats them all. And a big part of that was John Buzby's drum work ironically. My top three includes "Broken Record" which isn't usually a song I'd be drawn to as it has a ballad-like feel with some beautiful guitar. It has an experimental ending though. "Unikorn On The Cob" has some good contrasts to it, I like the depth and heaviness. "Self Control" the closer rounds out my top three. I'm a big fan of the chorus and the song reminds me of early THIEVES' KITCHEN.

I was surprised to see that this band released a new studio album in 2023, but then noticed they also did so in 2018, some 14 years after their second record.