Not What I Expected
avgvstvs | Omaha NE | 11/29/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I'm a huge fan of Misery Loves Co. and although I wasn't expecting this to sound like MLC, I wasn't expecting at all what's on this disc. It's really like a heavy indie rock... perhaps a bit of fugazi--overall fairly original. My biggest complaint is simply that there was nothing that really brought me into the record--there isn't alot of emotion here, as I've come to expect from MLC, though even MLC's last album sounded like Patrick was getting tired. (One can only be depressed for so long.) Still, this is a first album, and one can't expect a magnum opus the first time out. The absolute best song on the album is "As the City Falls on My Feet." It's a slower, more hypnotic song, that is worth a star just by itself. It conjures images of both sadness and hopefulness at the same time. The next best track I would say is "Doing it because I can." The drum line is quite catchy and it has an overall nice atmosphere. There is a great variety in the riffs in most songs. The guitars are toned to let the bass shine through, which is a good thing. It's a heavy overdrive that lets the notes shine through.
In summary It's good, but they're not quite cemented yet. It's a tad metal and a bit more punk, which makes it fit in line nicely with the dreaded "Indie" moniker that it will probably get stuck with--but it's indie with the emphasis on ROCK and nothing that could be considered "EMO." DO NOT get it just because you liked Misery Loves Co. It is completetly different. I'd recommend this to someone who really likes the "Killers" or even "Jet" though it sounds more modern than "Jet"--it's not a classic rock revival band."
