This is week two of four in the Lady-Vocalist-Hotties-Who-Rock (but aren’t all that famous) month, and I figured I may as well pay homage to my old stomping grounds; the Boston-metro area. Folks, let me tell ya, I just left Boston a few months back and don’t miss it at all. I don’t miss the high taxes, the go-fuck-yourself attitudes, the politics, the grey winters, the cost of living, the Mass-hole drivers, the insular economy/market… I could go on! But you know one thing that Boston has always done 100% right? The music. By God, the music scene in Massachusetts is amazing. From the legendary artists to the live shows, this region of the U.S. is inspired and on fire in a musical sense. Always has been, always will be. Oftentimes, there was and is great music from the region which manages to slip under the radar and go almost completely unnoticed. One such example was tunes by a little band called Splashdown, who’s total lifespan lasted approximately 3-4 years until the late 90’s when they subsequently vanished in a poof that could rival a Harry Houdini disappearing act. Into the 2000’s, the individual members of the group split off into various musical projects such as Freezepop, Anarchy Club and Universal Hall Pass, the latter being where vocalist and resident hottie Melissa Kaplan ended up and technically is the one and only member of. Smash play dear listener, because I want to draw particular attention to the vocal performance in this track, which is not only unconventional but executed REMARKABLY. While the instrumentals of this track are good, the vocal range and emotive expressiveness in Kaplan’s voice is unbelievable. She goes from soft to loud (without any shrill screaming) in about thirty seconds. Fun fact: this is a group that initially discouraged free music sharing on Napster, but shortly thereafter realized it was their primary mode of promotion, eventually encouraging free music sharing until their early death. Massachusetts, I do not miss you. But I will eternally love your coastal creative ingenuity. SHINE ON you crazy musical bastards in the frozen north! And keep those ass-kicking tunes coming until coastal flooding subsumes your metropolitan areas to the point where I’m listening to your old timey tunes from Charlotte Bay! This is Ironspy from their 1999 EP, Redshift. Enjoy!
It really is a shame that bands like this die so early. Given two more decades I’m more than sure this group could have produced some rocking hits. Give it up for the smokin’ voice on Melissa Kaplan and pursue her work because I’m too damn lazy to follow up further. Image credit: https://www.last.fm/music/Splashdown
