Labels: Second Nature
Review by: Andy Malcolm
What about Madwomen? Can they not own this?
Argh. I dunno. Another good album – except for…
…they just aren’t doing anything different. Where are the ideas in this scene? Hashing together bits of the Promise Ring, Sunny Day Real Estate and Jimmy Eat World whilst adding a little of your own hardcore slant isn’t much of a big deal. This is the kind of record I’d expect to find on Deep Elm (because for me it’s just a case of like not love), particularly with the drab vocalist they have. He’s got one of those made for radio US indie rock warbles. Get quirky, get cute, get crazed. Come on – bland vocals are 2 a penny, and really fail to make your music stand out.
Not that this record sucks. No way. The songs are good. It’s just that unless you only have a couple of emo albums, you won’t find anything new or original here. I love the bits where they do sort of Cap’n Jazz style jangly, prettiness, but those are infrequent. Oh well. And 2nd track “Corner Store” is particularly marvellable, with some excellent SDRE stylisation.
A worthy addition to your record collection if it lacks in the emo rock department, but if you’re well stocked with the original bands who developed this sound, it’s just another piece of plastic. With good music on it, dang it. And I can’t stop playing it either. Which I guess means I have to mark it high. How confusing.