If there is one thing on Bellylove’s album Circles and Darkness that is worth the price of admission, it is the creative medley of Black Sabbath, Frank Zappa and A Taste of Honey. The L.A.-based band of vocalist/bassist Toni Valenta, guitarist Lisa Black (ex-Pandoras) and drummer Adam Steinberg introduces a pinch Sabbath doom from “War Pigs” with an upbeat spark of A Taste of Honey’s hit single “Boogie Oogie Oogie,” and then works up Zappa’s Mother’s “Magic Fingers” to a unique flavor. It’s a blast to listen to.

Valenta and Black could work magic with anything, really. Valenta has the strong pipes and the solid bass playing to groove with Black’s worthy guitar distortion. And their original songs show a lot of revved up promise (the title track and  a song called “Stumble” come quickly to mind). Circles and Darkness is a sports car put together with scrap metal — as if created in a small garage itself, the shiny tools are there but the production level/space could be better. Not that there is anything wrong with that. Some of the best vehicles are produced in a garage (hence, the great genre “garage rock”). But with all this promise is room for improvement. For instance, Bellylove dedicates a lot of space on Circles and Darkness to cover three Pink Floyd songs. We all love Floyd but leave this for the bar bands.

Valenta’s voice is a magnificent tool to have in any band, and it is at its best when it is the rough and ready Ann Wilson to Black’s juiced up guitar sound. Aggressive hard rock, it seems, is this band’s strength. Let’s hope they stay that path.

Label: Self-produced. Bellylove’s CDs can be purchased at CDBaby, here. Or in digital format. Band Web site: www.bellylove.com

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