Search - Sullivan :: Hey I'm a Ghost

Sullivan Rules

the voxalator | 01/24/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This band has potential with their awesome songwriting and guitar hooks. Check this one out."

Great..but

03/03/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Sullivan are yet another on the long list of Tooth and Nail acts from the Southeast United States. I became interested in Sullivan during their tour with Bayside. They were enigmatic, energetic and frankly, blew me away. Before I got a hold of "Hey, I'm a Ghost" I listened and fell in love with the two tracks available to listen to online. These guys all have talent and are very good at what they do. The big problem is that these guys will get lost among the sea of similar acts in the genre. That is unfortunate.



The first track, and possibly best one, "Down here, we all float" begins with a fast paced guitar and drum part before the other guys kick in to provide a full lush sound. Characterized by crunchy guitars and vocals that walk that fine line of magnificent and whiny, "Down here..." kicks off the disc well. "The Charity of Saint Elizabeth" is my personal favorite though. The track sounds almost like it could be a b-side from Underoath if Spenser didn't scream at all. The CD ends with the title track,"Hey, I'm a Ghost" which is another one of the more solid tracks. The rhythm section consisting of drummer, Phil Chamberlain (Spenser's brother from Underoath) and bassist Zach Harward, do a great job keeping everything steady. Plus, the production was immaculate. Crazy, mad props to producer, Matt Goldman, on this one. But the real trump card here is the crunchy guitars and lead vocals of Brooks Paschal. The guitars have enough distortion to keep the music intense but with enough hooks to keep the listener interested. While his vocals are charismatic and walk that fine line between magnificant and whiny.



There is no question these guys have talent. But the dominant problem here is that every song sounds the same. It's not even that they don't sound original. They sound different enough to me from other things to make it enjoyable. But I swore that every song I listened to was exactly the same as the one before it. I mean that might be good if you really, really dig the sound.



It took me a little longer to put up this review because I really wanted to like this disc. And the more that I listened to it, the more I liked it. If you pick this disc up, give it a few listens before you toss it aside. If you let it, it might just become a fungus and grow on you.



"

Hot damn

the voxalator | 03/26/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"i was lucky enough to see sullivan several times before they singed to tooth and nail. i've always known they'd explode. 2006 proved me right. the only thing more intense than their album is their live proformance. deffinitly worth the buy."