Labels: Deep Elm
Review by: Andy Malcolm
I’m not certain how I feel about this record. Like, the songs sound great, effortlessly well produced, big sounding, melodic, rocking. All that stuff. And that’s the problem. It all seems too easy.
Songs like the opener “Dornier” mix up Promise Ring jangles and rhythms with Texas is the Reason emocore and thats definitely a nice combination. Lovely slow bits, blending with whomping heavy sections and shoutier vocals. Nothing wrong with that. As I said before it sounds good. But this record has problems and they lie with songs like the annoyingly titled “It Doesn’t Take That Many Pills To Sleep Forever”. Oh, don’t be so emo. Everyone knows emo kids are generally middle class who’s most serious problems are ones they only perceive themselves as having. Feel free to whine that life seems to suck, but suicide? Anyway, this is college rock with added noisy bits. Day time radio play would abound in the UK if someone deleted the out of place yelling from the end and then figured how to market this to the same kids who dig 3 Colours Red. Then there is “Determination” which starts out all slow and lumbering, before the big chorus. Don’t use all those awesome, twinkly P-Ring guitar parts to pretend you aren’t just as influenced by grunge. I’ve figured you out XMH.
Oh well. I’m definitely beginning to change my mind over Deep Elm. All the albums I have off that label I *like*. Only Pop Unknown do I love, the rest are generic. I heard they were releasing something by Blacktop Cadence though, so maybe they do have their heads screwed on right. We’ll see.