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Cover Art Money Mark
Mark's Keyboard Repair
[Mo'Wax/FFRR]
Rating: 9.0

I think "Money" Mark Ramos- Nishita says it best over the funk groove and ancient '70s fuzzbox on "Don't Miss The Boat." He says, "You may not like this type of shit, but somebody does." Well, kids, I'm that somebody, and you might be, too. In fact, if you're into undeniably stylee grooves that stick to your skin and shake your body up, you'll love it. Besides, isn't that really what life is about? Super lo-fi, analog, funkboard boogie.

I'm lucky, because I live in America. See, when you buy Mark's Keyboard Repair in the U.K., you'll get a shorter version of the disc which contains only twenty tracks, which may be enough for some people. As for myself, I just want more and more. You can never have enough. When you buy this disc in America, you get the original version with a boner-inducing thirty songs. This country is for me. I'll stay here forever.

You know you're getting rocketed to the moon immediately when the opening track, "Pretty Pain" blasts through your eardrums. A chunky-assed drumbeat breakdown occurs, the wah-wah keys your ass, and Mark's vocals blend as if they were the sound of a very small man trapped inside a Hammond organ.

"Ba Ba Ba Boom," sounds like a lost Issac Hayes demo tape -- laid back, and groovin' you silly. "Insects Are All Around Us" is a smooth jam and a nature lesson all rolled into one, while "Spooky," simply lives up to its name.

Mark's Keyboard Repair has, quite frankly, hit my G Chord. If this leaves my CD player at all this month, I'll be surprised.

-Ryan Schreiber

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RATING KEY
10.0: Indispensable, classic
9.5-9.9: Spectacular
9.0-9.4: Amazing
8.5-8.9: Exceptional; will likely rank among writer's top ten albums of the year
8.0-8.4: Very good
7.5-7.9: Above average; enjoyable
7.0-7.4: Not brilliant, but nice enough
6.0-6.9: Has its moments, but isn't strong
5.0-5.9: Mediocre; not good, but not awful
4.0-4.9: Just below average; bad outweighs good by just a little bit
3.0-3.9: Definitely below average, but a few redeeming qualities
2.0-2.9: Heard worse, but still pretty bad
1.0-1.9: Awful; not a single pleasant track
0.0-0.9: Breaks new ground for terrible
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