Twisted Demo (v1.6) review in Jim Santo's Demo Universe


I heard an earlier version of this tape last summer and reviewed it in Demorandum 87. I hated it! Undaunted by my contempt for his art, Ram sent an e-mail requesting I review a new version of his demo. Of course, I agreed. Maybe he's made genuine improvements, or maybe it's just my mood today (I no longer have the original version for comparison), but the "new" Twisted Demo is much more fun than the first. Ram's vocals sound more focused and less burdened by annoying distortion (although his voice still sounds like an electronic squirrel being sucked into a black hole), and his peculiar guitar playing stands out better from the mix. He's also added two new songs: "Furball In Throat" and "Walking In The Dark." A swirling soup of psychedelia, progressive rock and Venusian pop, Ram's music is hard to describe but impossible to mistake for anything else. That's a good thing I suppose, but let's be honest: normal people will find this music incredibly annoying. If you're not sure if you're normal, however, Ram maintains an excellent W3 site with sound samples and lyrics of every song on Twisted Demo.


TWISTED HELICES || Ram Samudrala || ram@twisted-helices.com