Labels: For the Ear
Review by: Andy Malcolm
Some solid indie rock from Tension Envelopes, a two piece, sharing the instrumentation duties equally, and vocals less so. “High” on the a-side is a gentle rocker, it rubs up against Superchunk and other such 90s endeavours, with sparky guitars and good poppy energy. I’m not entirely sold on Mr. Heilman’s vocals on this, maybe a bit high in the mix and struggling to carry things at times, a softer approach or letting D. Heilman sing more would have worked for me, but that’s by the by.
Over on the flip we have the Royal Champions, which is the stronger of the 2 tracks on here in my opinion. Mr. Heilman’s vocals are much improved, still high in the mix but a lot easier on the ear. The warm guitars chime and twinkle, especially on the chorus. This one kind of reminded me of early Ida when they weren’t afraid to play electric guitar here and there.
All told, a decent little release. I’d be more than happy if we got sent more things like this to review.