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E.Town Concrete "The Renaissance" CD
[Razor & Tie]
I don't give a fuck what anyone says, this band is fuckin' great. I've been all over this shit since way back when I heard their split 7" with Second to None, and I've followed them closely ever since. Now they're finally getting the recognition they always deserved, and even though they haven't changed their style, they have expanded it... and boy, are they going to catch a lot of shit! But the great thing is, you can't really hold shit against a band that's been singing about blowin' up and makin' some money since they first started out! Ha, ha! This is a damn diverse record, though. I was taken aback by some of what I heard, and at first I wasn't sure if I completely liked it, but as always after a few spins I was totally into it, and I can't stop listening to it. As a whole this is their best album yet. It's their heaviest and their most melodic, and the songwriting definitely flows stronger than ever. There's not one weak track on this entire album. Not one. One of my favorite songs, "So Many Nights", is also one of the most diverse and the most uncommon compared to E.Town's prior material. Starting out with some James Taylor-ish acoustic guitars (no shit) they even bust out a total cock rock sounding solo, and the chorus is catchy as hell with, yes, singing vocals. Harmonized even. And it sounds fucking good. I'd wager that someone's been taking lessons, and they paid the fuck off... "Baptism" is one of the heavier tracks, a definite winner: Brutal rhythms, awesome vocal arrangements, a few post-hardcore influences to some of the chords progressions... just an incredible song. Musically "Appetite for Distinction" reminds me a lot of Orange 9mm with its distorted bass runs and some of the guitar textures, and "Battle Lines" includes guest vocal appearances from Jamey Jasta (Hatebreed) and Cristian Machado (Ill Niņo). Probably the most unexpected piece is "Doormats", which is insanely upbeat with more surprisingly well executed singing vocals, etc. I'd be lying if I said this track didn't remind me a little bit of P.O.D. or something, but it's still fucking awesome regardless. The recording is fucking perfect, this is the best they've ever sounded. The sound on this thing kicks the shit out of their last record. They finally got a budget to work with and they took care of business. I don't have any complaints at all. The drums sound perfect and natural, the guitars are excellent, the vocals are mixed just right, and the bass presence is fucking right on. And when you listen in headphones there are a shitload of intricate nuances that you can't really pick up on otherwise. Damn fine work. The layout is fucking great too, totally professional and again clearly the best yet for E.Town. There are a lot of great photographs (band shots and pics of New Jersey in general, often with some interesting transparent textures over top), the lyrics are crisp and well laid out, etc. Content wise these songs deal with the same topics as always (persistence, personal struggles, paying your dues and working to hit it big, and so on), but there's understandably a little bit more of a "we finally made it, and fuck what you have to say about it" type of attitude. And of course there's still a hip-hop flow employed on many occasions: "Decimals. Even with them cats that's next to you, I'm bringing wreck to dudes. I'm disrespec-ti-ful, My excuse is that I rep Jeruz and plus I really don't expect to lose, My debut is like a spectacle, And your ears are left susceptible, So many hits that I can pick and choose, I'm rocking out like this was Motley Crue, And now you goons assume you're stopping who?" Man, I fucking love this band. Say what you want, call it whatever you want, I don't give a fuck. This is one of the only bands out there that has a completely original sound. They're not fucking "nu-metal", they're not fucking "rap metal", they just do what they fucking do, and I hope they fucking blow up and erase all of the silly bullshit that's out there selling hundreds of thousands of records right now. (9/10)
Running time - 43:00 (approximately), Tracks: 11
[Notable tracks: More Than Incredible, So Many Nights, Baptism, Punch the Walls, and everything else...]
E.Town Concrete - http://www.etownconcrete.net
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