Mundo Rojo and the Domino Theory
Grand Slam USA rules. Lets get that clear from the get go. Always great running into random people from class and trying to use the X and Y joysticks on whatever random arcade cab to convey the perilous traffic walking over from that haunted factory at the end of Village Way. Lazer tag was the thing this night though, oh and a certain release show. In a way, this was the culmination of an alliance that had been building since Malvern’s Domino Theory and Downingtown’s Defective crossed paths at some YWCA shows back in late ’03. Both bands drastically improved their songwriting in the time between, with The Defective breaking up and reforming as Mundo Rojo by mid-year.
Mundo Rojo leads with a lion’s share of seven songs. The four-piece dynamic really brought them to another level than heard on February’s The Defective States of America, with more focused messaging and an abundance of solos. Opener Losing My Mind, more than any other song here, really shows what this era’s three singer format could do . Live staples like pro-choice anthem Masturbation Is Murder and DK’s style Bush takedown Big Brother show the band at their peak, which makes the Kazaaesque sound quality that much more unfortunate. That’s just the way the CD’s came, but if you heard the scrapped first attempt at these songs you’d just be thankful they rerecorded them to begin with.
The Domino Theory makes their progression from 2003’s Straight Ahead clear on their side of the split. Opener Memorandum immediately raises the bar with emotive lead vocals from Andrew and some sick tempo changes toward the end. These guys did their homework and though it’s still the same band (movie samples and all) you could start to notice more of what set them apart from a lot of the other bands around. A little step on the way to what they would become before closing out the set with a remake of Joe Knows from the last EP, this half of the split would’ve definitley served to win over those who didn’t take Straight Edge Zombies seriously. Some copies included a TDT lyric sheet but mine didn’t and I’ve never seen one. Mundo Rojo & The Domino Theory was not available at many shows and soon after it came out both bands hit a crossroads.
It seemed really momentous at the time, but the split’s impact on TDT’s career was actually pretty negligible.TDT momentarily disbanded before bouncing back with a new drummer and noticably increasing their momentum. The next EP, Culture, turned around quick and featured a remake of Straight Ahead’s God Bless America. In the same spirit they redid the split’s All Rights Reserved on their 2006 debut full length, Evolution, but that’s about as far into the future they took anything from the split. Eventually they signed to Creep and after a cancelled 7” put out their final EP, Language, in 2008.
Mundo Rojo on the other hand, who had already changed drummers before the recording sessions and before the release show, made it a few more months before reverting to a three-piece called The Defective. It was basically the same band anyway but they seldom got around to burning up copies of their stuff for shows, so the most these songs really got were some hasty looking greatest hits style cds with the songs they still did live. By that point the momentum had chilled a bit and the follow up, 2006’s self-titled EP, didn’t even come out.
It seems that Mundo Rojo & The Domino Theory was the beginning of the end for Mundo Rojo and the end of the beginning for The Domino Theory.
Mundo Rojo leads with a lion’s share of seven songs. The four-piece dynamic really brought them to another level than heard on February’s The Defective States of America, with more focused messaging and an abundance of solos. Opener Losing My Mind, more than any other song here, really shows what this era’s three singer format could do . Live staples like pro-choice anthem Masturbation Is Murder and DK’s style Bush takedown Big Brother show the band at their peak, which makes the Kazaaesque sound quality that much more unfortunate. That’s just the way the CD’s came, but if you heard the scrapped first attempt at these songs you’d just be thankful they rerecorded them to begin with.
The Domino Theory makes their progression from 2003’s Straight Ahead clear on their side of the split. Opener Memorandum immediately raises the bar with emotive lead vocals from Andrew and some sick tempo changes toward the end. These guys did their homework and though it’s still the same band (movie samples and all) you could start to notice more of what set them apart from a lot of the other bands around. A little step on the way to what they would become before closing out the set with a remake of Joe Knows from the last EP, this half of the split would’ve definitley served to win over those who didn’t take Straight Edge Zombies seriously. Some copies included a TDT lyric sheet but mine didn’t and I’ve never seen one. Mundo Rojo & The Domino Theory was not available at many shows and soon after it came out both bands hit a crossroads.
It seemed really momentous at the time, but the split’s impact on TDT’s career was actually pretty negligible.TDT momentarily disbanded before bouncing back with a new drummer and noticably increasing their momentum. The next EP, Culture, turned around quick and featured a remake of Straight Ahead’s God Bless America. In the same spirit they redid the split’s All Rights Reserved on their 2006 debut full length, Evolution, but that’s about as far into the future they took anything from the split. Eventually they signed to Creep and after a cancelled 7” put out their final EP, Language, in 2008.
Mundo Rojo on the other hand, who had already changed drummers before the recording sessions and before the release show, made it a few more months before reverting to a three-piece called The Defective. It was basically the same band anyway but they seldom got around to burning up copies of their stuff for shows, so the most these songs really got were some hasty looking greatest hits style cds with the songs they still did live. By that point the momentum had chilled a bit and the follow up, 2006’s self-titled EP, didn’t even come out.
It seems that Mundo Rojo & The Domino Theory was the beginning of the end for Mundo Rojo and the end of the beginning for The Domino Theory.
Released January 14, 2005