This is relatively typical emo/indie rock that's got more of a somber feel than it does an upbeat one, though I will say that for being typical, it is better than a lot of what's out there these days. Most of the songs are moderately paced with a blend of clean guitars and mild distortion, displaying fairly soft singing that doesn't explore a wide range but is effective. Lots of octave chords and such are used, and it definitely sounds like they're drawing influences from a lot of bands from the 90's that were doing this kind of thing. But then again, "Luckily Alive" sounds to me like Dashboard Confessional with distortion, mainly due to the vocal arrangements, and it's definitely one of the best tracks herein as the singing opens up more and gets into some harmonization. As a whole they need more tempo variation, but that's about it. Speeding up certain areas would also shorten some of the tracks, which can also be an issue as the record is a bit on the long side, what with most pieces running around the five-minute mark. Cleaning up the sound would also help, but that's secondary to the writing at this stage. The recording is okay. The mix is really even, the vocals resting barely in front of the instrumentation, and so on. It's close to being right on the money, but I think it needs a little more brightness and punch overall. It's not muddy per se, but it needs something more. Just a little. The layout's not so bad. I like the vibrant colors and messy layering of collaged imagery, etc. The altered band photo on the back of the CD tray isn't necessary as there's already a huge posed band photo across the back of the booklet (and the same photo appears on the top of the CD tray), but whatever. Once more the lyrics are totally typical, and explore nothing that hasn't been done a hundred times before. "A classic case of mistake. Framing tonight in regret. Missing you and you're not even gone. Clear the room. Make way. A wreck was set to happen here..." Ummm, I'll pass. But musically, this isn't so bad at all. I would definitely expect this band to get pretty popular at some point, depending on where they go from here, but I'm curious at the very least.
[Uprising]
Running time - 48:50, Tracks: 10
[Notable tracks: Luckily Alive, I Said, Angels Eyes]
Uprising Records - http://www.uprisingrecords.com
