The Break "Handbook For the Hopeless" CD
[Ferret]
This is definitely a different sounding band from the Ferret camp's norm, dealing more with rocked out punk with little bits of hardcore and emo type stuff at times. I knew it was going to be along those lines based on things that I've read about the band, but I didn't know it would be so god damn boring!? It's hard to explain, because it's not awful, but there's no freakin' energy whatsoever. Part of that's because the recording, while tolerable, is just too flat. The guitars are really lacking in punch, and overall there's not a lot of emphasis on volume or fullness, so even though everything sounds decent it just falls short and loses steam. Writing-wise there are some borderline catchy moments, it's just not fast enough. The tempos are always a tad too slow, so the traditional rock 'n' roll riffs don't crank into full gear, plus most of the slower and darker stuff is pretty ineffective and lacks emotional drive... it's just not doing anything for me. I do tend to like the vocals sometimes. It's straight singing with a little bit of a rasp, nothing special, but it works. They definitely need to color it up with more backing vocals or obvious harmonies though, because that would add more energy to the songs as well. But "'67 Avenged?", for example, is a bland midpaced rocker that sounds like some sort of weird modern day "alternative" radio cut or something. I'm not into that at all... it's quite awful, actually. "Alone With You" is similar in style, though slightly more "promising" in some ways. Other than that most of the songs sound far too similar to one another, sticking with similar tempo ranges and structures that frequently drop back the distortion during the verse parts and bring it back a little louder for the choruses, etc. A lot of the songs drag on for too long as well, repeating back and forth for four minutes or more, which isn't excessive, but gets tiresome with this framework. The layout does look quite nice, all done up consistently in high contrast black and white with shades of bright green. The lyrics are pretty damn good as well, longer and more involved than average for this stuff, and effectively blending personal issues with socio-political commentary that's never too blunt or regurgitated. "I've been living in the red for so long now I'm a jaded no one. Plotting revenge against the rights they've wronged and dragged down the paths that they run. As time trades my life away I know inside I'll never see the day that they're suffering. That they're suffering the truth. I just can't live in a world so entrenched in denial." But, a good layout and some nice lyrics don't mean shit when the songs stink up the joint. If these kids got a stronger recording and sped things up they might be alright - they'd definitely be way better off, that's for sure. But this CD is boring as shit. Sorry. (4/10)
Running time - 37:57, Tracks: 11
[Notable tracks: none really catch my ear at all]
Ferret Music - http://www.ferretstyle.com

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