THE SKINNY: I'm fully aware that this is the fourth Where the Ocean Meets the Sky post in a month, but it's for good reason: Sexy! EP is the band's first album and will be press released on July 3 - just trying to get the word out ahead of time. Wanna go to their CD release show with us? Here's my take on this excellent first release...
PURCHASE: Amazon MP3, iTunes
I'm no newcomer to this sort of music, having spent many years playing in post-hardcore and various hard-hitting bands, some of which were great - so, at this point, I can recognize that fine line between cool and lame. With that said, what makes this record different from all the other pop punk / hardcore records out there (and there are a lot)?
For starters, each track sports some amazing singing, harmonizing and screaming. As soon as the album kicks off with the track "Autumn," vocalist Blake Martin takes off: "This season, makes me restless" - and it certainly is restless. The power carried by Blake and the vocalists alone are enough to haul the EP toward success. What's more is singers Kenny Davis and Marc Rosato continually, lyrically comment on the very direct, personal prose of Martin. This makes for a very fabled story-type experience, adding another level of uniqueness to the band's audible atmosphere.
And that's what this is really all about, isn't it? Again, how does this album stand out? Well, as said, Sexy! delivers lyrically, but that's not enough to warrant a deep, deserving following. Sexy!'s lyrics are wrapped in perfectly executed melodies that are way approachable, and should appeal to anyone who digs old UnderOATH, Taking Back Sunday, and old Finch, to name a few.
Instrumentally, Sexy! is the culminated lovechild of the past 10 years of poppy hardcore music. What salvages things, for me, are the intros to tracks 1 and 5. "This is How the World Ends" launches into a harmonized guitar thing, dressed in a 5/5 time signature to further throw you off, which is then surrounded by a thumping, synced drum and bass riff. The song goes on to display some more cool shredding and a few choice breakdowns.
Along the same lines, fan favorite "I'm Your Huckleberry" is probably the strongest track on the record, sporting some sweet, albeit standard, southern metal guitar riffs and some more amazing singing - Kenny and Marc really show their stuff on this track, definitively separating themselves from others in the scene - I'd take these two over Mayday Parade any day. At only 3:00, this track is way too short and has me hitting repeat more times than I care to tell you. "Huckleberry" is the perfect hybrid of vocal and instrumental work on this EP and I'll look forward to this balance in more frequency as the band progresses and matures - the other tracks sometimes give the impression that more effort was placed on vocals than guitar writing.
"I'm Your Huckleberry" off of Sexy! EP
But - On a five song EP that will inevitably be a hit or miss, the band executes a number of choice audio moments that any fan of the genre will recognize as both a fun and successful first effort.
THE SKINNY: Sexy! is a solid, incredibly well produced first effort by a band that's in it to win it - the EP's 5 tracks are primarily dominated by some amazing harmonies, and punchy breakdowns that any fan of poppy hardcore stuff is sure to appreciate, along with maybe even a few skeptical outliers.
FAVORITE TRACK: "I'm Your Huckleberry"
FOR FANS OF: Memphis May Fire, EveryTime I Die, UnderOATH, a Skylit Drive
PURCHASE: Amazon MP3, iTunes
For starters, each track sports some amazing singing, harmonizing and screaming. As soon as the album kicks off with the track "Autumn," vocalist Blake Martin takes off: "This season, makes me restless" - and it certainly is restless. The power carried by Blake and the vocalists alone are enough to haul the EP toward success. What's more is singers Kenny Davis and Marc Rosato continually, lyrically comment on the very direct, personal prose of Martin. This makes for a very fabled story-type experience, adding another level of uniqueness to the band's audible atmosphere.
And that's what this is really all about, isn't it? Again, how does this album stand out? Well, as said, Sexy! delivers lyrically, but that's not enough to warrant a deep, deserving following. Sexy!'s lyrics are wrapped in perfectly executed melodies that are way approachable, and should appeal to anyone who digs old UnderOATH, Taking Back Sunday, and old Finch, to name a few.
Instrumentally, Sexy! is the culminated lovechild of the past 10 years of poppy hardcore music. What salvages things, for me, are the intros to tracks 1 and 5. "This is How the World Ends" launches into a harmonized guitar thing, dressed in a 5/5 time signature to further throw you off, which is then surrounded by a thumping, synced drum and bass riff. The song goes on to display some more cool shredding and a few choice breakdowns.
Along the same lines, fan favorite "I'm Your Huckleberry" is probably the strongest track on the record, sporting some sweet, albeit standard, southern metal guitar riffs and some more amazing singing - Kenny and Marc really show their stuff on this track, definitively separating themselves from others in the scene - I'd take these two over Mayday Parade any day. At only 3:00, this track is way too short and has me hitting repeat more times than I care to tell you. "Huckleberry" is the perfect hybrid of vocal and instrumental work on this EP and I'll look forward to this balance in more frequency as the band progresses and matures - the other tracks sometimes give the impression that more effort was placed on vocals than guitar writing.
"I'm Your Huckleberry" off of Sexy! EP
But - On a five song EP that will inevitably be a hit or miss, the band executes a number of choice audio moments that any fan of the genre will recognize as both a fun and successful first effort.
THE SKINNY: Sexy! is a solid, incredibly well produced first effort by a band that's in it to win it - the EP's 5 tracks are primarily dominated by some amazing harmonies, and punchy breakdowns that any fan of poppy hardcore stuff is sure to appreciate, along with maybe even a few skeptical outliers.
FAVORITE TRACK: "I'm Your Huckleberry"
FOR FANS OF: Memphis May Fire, EveryTime I Die, UnderOATH, a Skylit Drive
0 of you said...
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
