Face Tomorrow "The Closer You Get" CD
[Reflections]
Solid emo/indie rock from The Netherlands with some heavier influences at work. This is a bit more laidback and focused than their last record in some ways, but the key element is that the recording is a shitload better. The slightly flawed recording really held them back before, but here everything sounds totally pro. It's thick, loud, and clear, and I have no real complaints. The rhythm section sounds like a million bucks, the mix is even and only slightly favors the vocals, the guitar tones are all appropriate for their given passages, etc. The vocals are easier for me to handle this time out as well. They're still unique (actually starting to remind me a tad of Tool), but they've improved, and catchier tracks like "Sign Up" really let the vocal harmonies do a lot of work. "Feel Free" is one of the darker and less straightforward tracks, letting the basslines take a lot more prominence amongst layered clean guitar passages. "Disappointment" has a really emotional sort of tangent to it that reminds me a little bit of The Casket Lottery in some ways (just the way some of the chord progressions build up and unfold). It's a consistent set of songs, though. Nothing strays too are for the path. "Sunny Side" is a bit more varied in its use of slight heaviness and quirkier/mildly more complicated guitar parts, and on rare occasion hints of shouted vocals come in - but 99% of the vocals are sung, this isn't one of those on again/off again bands that tries to contrast major shifts at all. The layout's not bad, including a nice digipack and a booklet for the lyrics, etc. I'm not blown away by anything, but it looks good. I'm not that interested in the lyrics because they're a bit nondescript, but again, they're not bad at all, just your usual personal issues without a great deal of specificity. Honestly the only minor "setback" this time around is that the record's a little long. All of the songs run from three to five minutes and tend to follow very similar midpaced to slightly slow tempos, and that consistency of pace and overall approach can be a little tedious at times. It's not a problem so much as it is one little facet of the CD that could've been a bit better. "Sign Up" is the only song herein that really picks up the pace a tad, and it stands out as far and wide the best track as a result. I think the band's future work could be what really kicks it into full gear. I like this, though. A nice change of pace from the heavy/screamy stuff, they really know how to calm things down and work within that realm. I'll look forward to their future work once more. This is a nice improvement. (7/10)
Running time - 51:47, Tracks: 12
[Notable tracks: Sign Up, Disappointment, Sunny Side]
Reflection Records - http://www.reflectionrecords.com

This review has been displayed 1742 times.