by Alex Henderson
Dragline was recorded in Madison, WI, but Paw's influences are pure Seattle. Very much a grunge album, Dragline comes out of the Nirvana/Pearl Jam school of alternative rock and finds Paw fluctuating between the musical and the forceful. On such tunes as &Sleeping Bag& and &The Bridge,& substantial melodies and harmonies contrast nicely with punk-like outbursts and metallic intensity. Like Pearl Jam, Paw can bring to mind Neil Young, Black Flag and Metallica within the course of a single song. To be sure, Paw's writing isn't in a class with that of Nirvana or Pearl Jam -- Dragline is hardly a CD that one should choose over Nirvana's In Utero or Pearl's Ten. But it's generally competent, if overly derivative.