Full Six EP Review: April 17, 2003

Review: Six EP by Chad Painter of The Other Paper

The Stepford Five has definitely read up on it's Columbus rock. In the past (like on The Art of Self-Defense), the Bowling Green immigrants have tried and failed to find their version of the Columbus sound. Instead, they have had to settle for being Columbus's answer to the Afghan Whigs, which isn't such a bad consolation prize.

On Six, TS5 has finally found its voice.

The album kicks off with 'Are You Dreaming,' a mix of great angular descending riffs and a play on the soft/loud dynamic. Tim Minneci sings, 'I always wondered why/ We failed when we tried/ To hold on.'

The title track has a great stuttering drumbeat and big power chorus that could fit nicely in an arena near you. The band sounds like a cross between Watershed and a more radio-friendly Pretty Mighty Mighty, while Minneci sings, 'Find a way to be yourself/ That's all I'm asking for.'

Elsewhere, 'Fair is Fair' is a slice of alternative rock of days gone by, and 'Pinhole' sounds like a slowed down mix of Soundgarden and Pearl Jam.

Six sounds like a band coming into its own. My only complaint is that it's so brief (clocking in at under 18 minutes). Oh well, guess it's just a taste until the full-length in the fall.

Review: Six EP by Stephen Slaybaugh of the Columbus Alive

With 2001's The Art of Self-Defense, the Stepford Five began to move away from the '90s indie guitar-rock influences displayed on its debut, Mesh, stretching a gauze of effects and half-remembered conations over their incendiary emissions.

The band's new EP, 6, which is being released by newly formed local label Reverbose (run by members of the Stepford Five and Miranda Sound) removes such artifices for a more defined sound. The aesthetic works well for the four-piece, placing its components - propulsive drum pounding, icy riffs and Keith Jenkins' careening voice - in sharp relief. In general, the Stepford Five bears a certain resemblance to Bush for their bombast and Jenkins' vocals' similarity to those of Gavin Rossdale. Theirs is a big noise that moves with undeniable and inexhaustible force and drama.

Full TAOSD Review: November 1, 2001

Review: The Art of Self-Defense by Rob Harvilla, The Other Paper


"All I want is somethin' beautiful," declares Stepford Five vocalist Keith Jenkins a few minutes into The Art of Self-Defense, the much-hyped sophomore disc from four guys committed to expertly crafted guitar rock ugliness.

Self-Defense is a tightly wound, creatively produced and relentlessly murky-affair. Wrapped in emotive, twin-guitar indie rock, it'll coat your immediate visual world view in thick, murky blacks and grays. Picture yourself trudging through North Campus late, late Saturday night, penniless and freezing, mulling over the day's events: Your girlfriend left you, the Bucks lost by 20, your car's on fire. This record replicates drab, cruddy Ohio weather with astounding clarity.

That's a compliment. The Stepford Five bristles with grungy, discordant rock energy, well represented here by tunes like Pretty Exit and Foot Soldier. All this ain't pretty, but it's got unmistakable drive, and the five-star Workbook Studios production treatment suits it well. Weird guitar effects, random patches of aural weirdness, disembodies backup vocals, cool drum sounds - it's almost too much, to the point where you wonder if Self-Defense would sound very different (and very plain) without all the hoo-hah.

It very well might, but it doesn't have to, and the tunes resonate accordingly. Expectations is a slow-burner that avoids dragging on, thanks to a huge vocal assist from Miranda Sound hootmaster Billy Peake. The Fall is a well-placed bomb in the album's second half - 2:36 of less complex pop sensibility with a melodic outro that hits the bullseye and gets the hell outta there. In fact, Self-Defense works best after the hook's buried and the lyrics dealt with - the set ending Showing Through starts slow but ends on a similar instrumental high.

Neither the structure nor the vocal matter here rates as particularly transcendent - basically the Five are a roughed-up, pissed off hybrid of Goo Goo Dolls-style guitar rock. But this time out, they're very much in their sonic element, and committed to making the most of it. The Art of Self-Defense is quite high art indeed.

The Art of Self-Defense went on sale today exclusively (dude!) at Virgin Megastore in Easton. Buy it there or online at Stepfordfive.com. The band's next show is Friday Nov. 9 at Bernie's.

Full Article: April 20, 2000

The Other Paper, April 20th, 2000.