NIACIN

Niacin's debut is a bit shaky, but it isn't bad. The trademark Niacin sound is already apparent with Novello's groovy B3, Sheehan's running basslines and Chambers' skillful drumming. Unfortunately, the tunes are a bit more relaxed on this record, and the songs get boring as time passes, especially due to the monotony of the sound. Niacin's more recent works, Time Crunch and Organik, are much more energetic and interesting, though I would say that the album following this one, High Bias is a pretty solid release too. The performances are all good, but in the big picture, the album is rather dull and the compositions aren't as refined or diverse as their future ones are. To a listener new to Niacin, this will still sound like a very hard-rockin' jazz fusion group, but they should know that it gets better! The highlights would be the opener "No Man's Land," which includes an nod to Return to Forever's "Space Circus" and the aggressive "Bullet Train Blues."