Review #1 Federico Marongiu Music Extreme Magazine (Buenos Aires, Argentina) www.musicextreme.com This is pure rock!! This band delivers here fourteen songs with rocking riffs and some seventies influences. I caqn hear some southern rock influences in some of the parts. Here all the guitars sound loud and with no too much distrtion. Palms here go to the vocalist who mades a lot of variations making each of the songs memorable. There are choruses that have enough hooks to let the song in your memory long after it has finished. The lyrics have a lot of sense of humour in them and that is essential in The Users music. I liked a lot the vocal lines that reminds me to some seventies or even late sixties band but with a much more modern sound. Here is a bit of fresh air in the rock and roll world and with the help of some tallented producer this band can go easily into the charts. This CD is truly amazing...., July 20, 2004 Reviewer: B. L. Milavetz (Lancaster, CA) (from Amazon.com) This CD is the kind you never want to take out of rotation in your car. I have had this CD for more than a year now and I still listen to it more than any other CD I own I have bought before or since... I have known these guys for years and this CD really captures the intensity of the way they play live.. The band has a completely unique sound... They are incredible musicians and their love of music of all varieties allows them to play the best aspects of all styles but the band goes beyond the boundaries of their influences... Fate has brought these musicians together for a purpose and I strongly feel that these guys should have a major audience... They are the next big thing in music if they ever get heard by the right person.. Mike Monsalve plays a fast and furious bass that almost no other bass player in music could hope to keep up with... Mike Watt, Flea and Les Claypool could take lessons here.... He is really in a class by himself... This band was at one point a four piece named the Users with Mike's brother Marty playing guitar along with Alan Ewald... With Marty now living too far away to be an active member of the band, Alan Ewald is playing twice as fast to get Marty's licks in there as well and keep up with Mike... Rick Johnson is a great drummer and the glue holding the music together. There is no stopping these guys. Bands play together for decades and never get as tight as these guys are playing together. This is a garage band that has played together for 20 years which is one reason how they have pulled magic out of nowhere for this CD. Magic is everywhere here. The songs on this CD are amazing and I don't need a list to know their names and order because I can flip tracks in my head on this one from listening to it so much... The first four songs are a rock and roll thrill ride demonstrating what would happen if the music played you.... 'Addicted' has a riff that rocks out and then the bass line of 'Sicko' sets the tone with a song which rocks so artfully and quickly. Just when it seems like it is about is good as it can get it gets better. At the end of 'Sicko' the bar is set very high and the band plays the jaw dropping Hollow Head. This song is probably the best song on the CD though it is too long to probably be a radio hit which is a shame because this is the song that best explains why the Users are so good... Hollow Head which was written almost 20 years ago still sounds beyond the edge of what rock should be able to do. This is a freeform jam song which is constantly evolving and it really shows what the band can do... The guitar is really fast and the bass is so fast it doesn't seem possible and Rick Johnson's phenomenal drumming holds it all together and the madness stays stable and smooth .. This song leaves your heart pounding and blood racing... I wrecked my car once while listening to this song and it was the only time I ever turned it down.... Next is the frenetic 'Kind of Motion' which was a top requested hit on Brazillian alternative radio. The only people on to this band are the people of Brazil. Kind of Motion is different from anything these guys did before or after... It kind of has a sound that makes me feel like falling over but somehow never hitting the ground. Bass and Drums seem to be at war and the guitar holds it together. Next is a cover of the Pixies, 'wave of mutilation'.. The band does a great job with this song and next is the acoustic anthem 'Let it Go'. 'Review Six' is very artistic noise or very noisy art. 'Letter from Texas' is a song where the bass talents of Mike are showcased. I always like to hear this song and they got a good version for the CD. '23726' is an instrumental that is like a new Black Sabbath song or something... Next is 'Something New' which is more of a straight forward Rocker. 'Permanent Sleeping' is a great song which was written on a piano by Mike. This is a ballad and is pretty cool and allows your heart the rest necessary for making it thru April Fools Joke which is a great rock and roll song and and a highlight of a great CD. Fast and Furiously the song rocks at the insane pace of first part of the CD. The drums on this song are my favorite part of this song but it is all great. Guitar and Bass are racing and unique on this track too. One of many unique songs on this CD which ends with the ballad 'In Your Face' which leaves you wanting to start over with track one. One of my favorite recordings of all time and while I am a friend of the band my love of their music is what convinced me to write this review !