Damn! You wouldn't expect melodic emo/indie rock from a bunch of ex-members of Born From Pain, Facing Down, Reaching Forward, Razor Crusade, and Of No Avail... but that's what you'll get here. And I must say, it's pretty god damn good, too! It's somewhat poppy, but it's catchy, and it's not poppy in a goofy MTV way per se... I don't know. The songs are just straightforward with a post-hardcore tinge, and the writing seems to be rooted more in what was going on in the 90's, closer to Texas is the Reason and things of that nature than anything that I've heard as of late. And that suits me fine, because all those bands were a million times better than most of what falls under the contemporary definition of "emo", so Close Second already has a huge edge. It's a pretty good mix of clean and distorted guitars with normal singing vocals and driving basslines. The singing could stand to be a bit more emphatic, but that's no big deal. The production is great for a self-released effort. It wouldn't hurt for the guitars to be slightly brighter, nor for the mix to be a little bit clearer, but they're very close to being dead on target. The drums are warm and natural, the bass presence is great, etc. The vocals are slightly out front and the density of the recording affects the clarity a tad, but not to the point where it becomes problematic. The CD comes in a slipcase with nice high contrast artwork, some handwritten text, and a cool color scheme. I really like it. No lyrics or anything are included, but I assume they were just going for something quick and effective since this is a self-released effort. Great work. I'm quite certain this band will get signed soon, and I definitely look forward to hearing more from 'em.
[self-released]
Running time - 14:18, Tracks: 4
[Notable tracks: Defense, The Part That Stays]
Close Second - http://www.closesecond.com
