Yeah... this isn't for me. The band uses 4- and 8-string basses, acoustic guitar, drums, vocals, mandolin, and flute to create folk-ish/emo compositions with both male and female singing. I can listen to it, but I don't enjoy it. I don't know, it's just not my thing. I can't really tell you anything's wrong with it per se, it's got a decent recording, the songs are competent, the playing is fine... I'm just not into it. Chalk it up to personal tastes I suppose. More specifically on the recording, the bright and dry acoustic guitars dominate, followed by percussion and vocals, with bass, flute, and mandolin filling in spaces here and there. It could be mixed more efficiently, but the clarity is nice and I really like the perfectly natural tones they've achieved. I'm not a flute fan at all but I will confess that they have some cool melodies going on at times here. But I guess this is all just too hippie-ish for me or something. Sometimes the male vocalist reminds me of a more discernible Bob Dylan, and I fucking hate Bob Dylan. Plus the whole way they approach this stuff is painfully arty and hippie-esque, especially lyrically. The CD-R comes in a black and white sleeve with a weird photo on the front that's been severely altered, and inside is a xeroxed lyric booklet. The lyrics are sort of abstract and personal but do carry a message, usually sort of a call to action to do something with your life and whatnot. They're not bad, they just way too fucking arty for me. "When I swing my arm across this instrument I yearn for resistance, some tension to break the slack. We can reconcile later in a beautiful culmination of energy and anger..." I mean, that kind of line causes me physical pain. I can't stomach that stuff. I don't necessarily fault them for it, but I do have a personal distaste for that style of lyric writing. Musically there is some value here, but none of the complete songs hit me. People who are more accustomed to listening to things of this nature should perhaps explore this, but again... not my thing.
[Burnitdown/Rebuild]
Running time - 34:01, Tracks: 11
[Notable tracks: I have no strong feelings about any of them]
Burnitdown/Rebuild - http://www.burnitdownrebuild.com
