Giving ChaseBack when I did a review for this band's previous release, "Nothing Ever Changes", I foolishly said these guys were from the outskirts of Philadelphia, well they aren't, they're from State College, PA. Well anyway, since I didn't mention it in that review I'll give some background on these guys; they have been together since October 1997 and have thus far released two EP's the first one being "Still Waiting..." (Carlisle Records) titled, and the second "Nothing Ever Changes" (Jumpstart Records) as well as a 7" titled "While Nero Played" (Jumpstart Records), which features two of the tracks that are featured on this release ("While Nero Played" and "Noise Without A Signal").
Well, since their last EP it doesn't seem these guys have changed their sound too-too much. For the most part they still rely on their influences of Face To Face, Kid Dynamite, Jawbreaker, Lifetime, Saves The Day, etc,. They even revisit some of the brief piano interludes that they used sparsely on their last record.
For whatever reason I wasn't enamored with their last release, it takes a lot for a hardcore/punk band with tons of pop-punk sensibilities to grab my attention. As I just mentioned, these guys didn't change their sound much and it isn't anything that really appeals to me. With that said, these guys really aren't that bad, if someone put it on at a party, I wouldn't be aching to stick beer cans in my ears. So, to a certain extent I don't mind these guys and when I listen to a song like "While Nero Played" I wonder why they can't write more awesome songs like this. I mean the song starts off with an almost metalcore'ish feel and the shouted screams are a lot more enjoyable than the clean shout singing that is mostly used throughout the album.
Sadly, this 12 track full length fails to deliver more songs that are on par with "While Nero Played". There are moments similar to "While Nero Played" such as the twists in the song "Hollywood, D.C." but it's too few and far between. And for me anyway, the singing isn't horrible but isn't my thing and the back up vocals that are provided by everyone in the band except the bassist sound good just not the singing.
This was recorded over at Clay Creek Studios by Nick Rotundo and was mastered by the famed Alan Douches over at West West Side. Really, I don't have many complaints about the recording except for the vocals, I don't know at times they sounded great but others sounded a bit low. It may just be the way the vocalist intended to sing it but eh. But other than that, the guitar tone is good. I liked the bass tone, it's got a good balance of treble and warmth. I like the feel and tone of the drumwork.
Dwitt did an awesome job doing the artwork for this release, which is characterized by colorful illustrations that tie into some of the more socially charged lyrics. The album comes in a green cardboard slip case with the band name stenciled in black paint. The booklet is printed on matte stock paper which works better than gloss in this case considering the illustrations are meant to look like paintings. The front cover of the booklet has an awesome paint/drawing of a 2-D White House held up by supports with a cartoon mouth throwing up some nasty green shit. The eight pages in the booklet were used to their full potential. Each page is splattered with either a sweet drawing, band photo, or lyrics. Very good stuff.
Rating: 2.5/5
Songs Worthy of Replay: While Nero Played
Synopsis: I liked this just a little bit more than their last EP but at the end of the day these guys didn't do it for me then, don't quite do it for me now and I doubt they ever will, not without a stylistic change that is, and that won't and shouldn't happen because if these guys love playing this style of music, good for them, and if they stick their guns many will take notice.
This may not be up my alley but check out some songs over at the band's MySpace page. If you like what you hear head over to JumpstartRecords.com and make the purchase.