Emily Woesthoff Archive
Andrew W.K.- Who Knows? Live 1992-2004
Starring: Andrew W.K.
Written By:
Directed By:
Studio: Music Video Distribution
Buy on Amazon.com: link
There is one man in music who can make wearing white jeans look cool; this man also has a positive aura around him that can instantly make any crowd he plays for simply happy to be alive. This man is Andrew W.K. His recent release, Who Knows? is a DVD that brings his insane live energy on to your TV screen. If one work could summarize this DVD in its entirety it would simply be:mayhem.
This video starts off very dark and somber with the narrator offering some biographical information about Andrew W.K. During the between song banter, Andrew also shares some of his own philosophy on having fun and also talks a bit about how he started out. He mentions when he first started in New York City, his live show consisted of himself, a drum machine, and keyboard. He then traveled to Florida to form a solid band. He felt his music would be best expressed through a full band and that is how he has continued to tour ever since. Who Knows? ends strangely with Andrew taking a super long and eerie walk away from the studio. This ending fits in with the artsy camera shots of alleyways and walls between songs on the DVD.
The first video kicks in for “Violent Life” which is taped straight through of one performance. A number of songs on the video are done in the same manner, but unfortunately the sound quality is a bit muffled. Songs like “I Love NYC”, “I Get Wet” and “Party Hard” are shown in a montage format comprised of clips from a few live shows and sound much more clear. The jumpy camera cuts on these are dizzying but get the idea across of being at an Andrew W.K. show. For those who have never had the opportunity to see him live, this DVD is a glimpse of just how insane his performance is. At one point, the stage is actually overtaken by the crowd who storm the stage and remain there, crowd surfing and all. For “Totally Stupid” Andrew is on stage in a wheelchair with a broken foot, and still rocks our just as hard as usual.
The best song featured on Who Knows? is by far “I Love NYC”.Not only is it just a great song, but also is put together in such a hilarious fashion. It is a montage of clips from various places where Andrew has performed the song live. Cuts include him singing “I love Ohio City”, “I love Idaho” and “I love Colorado” in place of “I love New York City”.The song, energy and crowd reaction are the perfect example of his live show and how much he enjoys putting on an amazing show.
Andrew W.K. is all about showing people how to have a good time and encouraging them to live life to the fullest. The DVD booklet actually pays homage to this philosophy and is a great example of his purest intent, to show his audience a good time through music. The booklet is chock full of information about the man behind the wet hair, white jeans and t-shirt. Reading the booklet offers insight to a side of Andrew that is not his on stage persona but his real self; oddly enough the two are one in the same.
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Additional Footage
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ENGLISH: Dolby Digital 5.1
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Favorites: I Love NYC, Party Hard and Totally Stupid
Rating: NR
Running Time: 75 minutes
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NOFX
Opening Bands:
Date: March 1st 2006
Venue: BB Kings, NYC
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You might wonder why the most noted punk band today rarely plays New York City. Then, you might ask why, when they do come to NYC to support an upcoming album, they would choose to play BB Kings, a smallish club in Times Square. After pondering that for a while, you might even follow up with the question, why only one show? When you take into consideration NoFX’s 12-date national tour, (aptly titled the “You Call 12 Shows a Tour? Tour”) you may decide it’s best to stop asking so many questions.
For those lucky enough to have been in attendance on the first day of March, NoFX played quite possibly their best collection of songs. Eighteen minutes and nineteen seconds in, it was clearly the most amazing NoFX show ever; that’s right my friends, they opened with The Decline. The coveted masterpiece is the length of roughly 18 separate NoFX songs all rolled into one and is rarely played live. While this was clearly the high point of the evening, the rest of the set was equally amazing and did not disappoint. Well, except for the encore, which began with a lot of confusion among the crowd waiting for about fifteen minutes before the band returned to the stage. When the house lights finally went dim once again, the band played a mishmash of “Six Pack Girls” and seemed just as baffled as the audience.
Despite the fact that most of the band was obliterated on stage, especially Fat Mike, they got through the set swimmingly. They played old favorites “Linoleum”, “Perfect Government”, “Lori Meyers” and “Scavenger Type”. They also played newer songs, “She’s Nubs” off The War on Errorism, their cover of Rancid’s “Radio” and a few songs off their upcoming release, Wolves in Wolves Clothing set to come out 04.18.06 as well as songs from their latest EP, Never Trust A Hippie. There were also two semi-star-studded guest appearances, one from Bad Religion guitarist Greg Hetson, and the other, Steve-O of Sum 41.
Fat Mike has onstage banter down to a science, and despite being considerably belligerent, he is able to engage the crowd. When introducing “Bob” from the album Punk in Drublic, he began by first stating, “This song is off the best album we ever wrote”. Mike then thought for a minute and changed his mind saying that, Punk in Drublic is probably somewhere in their top five, with So Long And Thanks For All The Shoes coming in first. He also made a number of comments about Dropkick Murphy’s, who were playing another sold out show at a larger venue down the street and, according to Fat Mike, probably giving their fans a better show for their money.
NoFX might be so 9th grade to some more cynical fans, but the band has obviously matured along with its audience. This was especially evident on their last politically charged record, The War on Errorism. Hopefully Wolves in Wolves Clothing will continue this trend toward some more sophisticated music coupled with purely fun punk rock at heart. NoFX are no strangers to the Vans Warped Tour and will be promoting their forthcoming album, as well as their new EP, Never Trust A Hippie this coming summer. While they probably will not play “The Decline”, as it would take up more than half of their set, the show is sure to not be a let down for NoFX fans and newcomers alike.
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Killing The Pop Scene With The Towers of London
“We’re going to upset a few people,” says Donny Tourette, lead singer for The Towers of London. “But,” he adds, “it will be good for people to see what its all about”. He is speaking; of course of the band’s three upcoming shows at South By Southwest. The five-day music extravaganza is indie-rock’s answer to Woodstock (just replace hippies with hipsters). Some fans in Austin might be intimidated by The Tower’s fast music and loud image. Nevertheless, the band has been revamping their set list and rehearsing like crazy for the shows. Guitarist, Dirk Tourette confidently adds, “We’re going there to blow some people away.”
The London based punk rockers also feature The Rev (lead guitar), Tommy Brunette (bass) and Snell (drums). The five members have created a buzz in the London underground circuit and are ready to take The States by storm. They will be playing SXSW for MTV2, Vice and their label, TVT Records. The brothers are confident they will be the best band among a cast of hundreds, but were not quite sure exactly who else was on the bill. All egos aside, with their 70’s style punk rock, The Towers will undoubtedly stand out among the mellow line up. When asked how they think they will fare, Dirk responded, “I don’t want to fit in, don’t want to be part of the crowd. I hope we are in a different league, in a different world.” He adds, “I doubt there are many bands around like us” and is quite correct in this assumption.
Their debut album, “Blood Sweat and Towers” will be released through TVT this coming June. With little else to dwell on, the lack of an album can explain the media’s focus on their haircuts and tight pants. Any time ToL are mentioned, names like Motley Crue and Poison are sure to follow. The Towers might look a bit like The Crue at first glance, but they are a lot more punk rock than any 80’s hair band. Dirk laughingly admits that there is definitely a problem if everyone is still talking about their image following the album’s release. Donny is confident the media will soon tire of the image gossip. Dirk agrees, “Some people take us seriously and some people don’t, but I think that people who like punk rock music or rock music take us seriously. Then people who like Bloc Party don’t take us seriously, but I don’t take them seriously either.”
The brothers were first influenced by Oasis, the band both Donny and Dirk first saw live. Dirk remembers accidentally getting tickets to this concert, which would change his life. From there, they got into harder bands: The Clash, The Sex Pistols, The New York Dolls and Iggy Pop, just to name a few. The brothers are not like some of their predecessors in that they are not a politically charged band, not yet anyway. Dirk says, “It’s all about letting loose… it might be a different thing for the next album, it might be a soundtrack to our lives [and] maybe a little bit more descriptive than what this is going to be. This one is just about fucking playing in a band. No big meaning to it.”
Rumor has it that the Towers are the most hated band in Britain, they’re also notorious for their violent antics. The brothers Tourette are just in it to have a good time, and play some killer music along the way. When asked to clear up any misconceptions about their reputation, Donny Tourette offers his own explanation, There have been some incidents. When we first started playing, we would get a lot of shit from people in clubs. People would come stand in the front shout abuse at you, throw fucking things at you. I’ve had glasses thrown in my face, people try to punch me in the face, and it’s a reaction. Imagine what your reaction would be if someone did that to you. In the early days, you had to defend yourself from fucking assholes.
Guitarist Dirk Tourette agreed, There are a lot of people who take shit in the world, people like to go around, especially in England, people like to give out shit to kids with long hair or because they look a bit differently. They don’t ever say anything back, they just take it and that’s one thing that really infuriates me. I’ve decided if anyone gives me shit, I’m going to really give them shit right back. I guess… people think it’s violent or dangerous it’s just actually we’re on the good side…but some people don’t see that.
He continues, and offers insight about the media’s injustice, They see it as if you [hit] someone, someone will only talk about you [hitting] someone, and they won’t talk about the guy spitting in your face before hand, trying to trip you up or trying to throw a drink all over you when you’re just trying to walk down the street. So I guess that’s where the reputation has come from I think the music is a bit dangerous… I’m a lover and so is [Donny]. But if you have to, you got to defend yourself I don’t think there’s enough of that shit going on. It just spread from there.
Disappointed in the current scene, the Towers of London front men strive to create what has been missing in music for a while, a purely gritty punk sound. Their debut album is a perfect example of necessity being the mother in invention. With a lack of anything better to listen to, Dirk decided to start playing what he wanted to hear himself, “If there’s nothing new,” he says, “It sort of makes you kick yourself in the ass to produce a record that other people want to listen to who love all that sort of stuff. I think that’s the reason we started the band anyway, because there wasn’t anything out there that I was getting excited about. So, we were just like, well we’ll do it ourselves if no one else is going to do it, we’ll take on the challenge.”
The Towers of London feel they are more welcomed in The States than at home. The band looks forward to playing their upcoming SXSW dates as well as New York city shows. They will be supporting The Pogues at the Nokia Theatre March 19th and also playing the ‘Live From London’ Show at the Bowery Ballroom March 21. With the album’s release date quickly approaching, The Towers of London will be turning some heads and making some hopefully music-based headlines. Their listener-friendly aggressive punk is not overwhelming, but it is hard, fast and good enough to give the current scene a run for its money. In recent years filled with a plethora of ‘The (insert word s here) bands’ The Towers offer a fresh sound and attitude that are long overdue.
Bouncing Souls, Leftover Crack & The Pietasters
Opening Bands:
Date: December 30th 2005
Venue: The Starland Ballroom, Sayreville NJ
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When seeing the Bouncing Souls in New Jersey, it’s sure to be great, and 12.30 at the Starland Ballroom in Sayreville was no different. If not for the Souls’ amazing set, openers Bench Press 3000 (BP3K) would have absolutely stolen the show. With their motivational thrash version of a Jane Fonda workout video, they are dedicated to getting rockers back in shape. Their slogan, “The scene is not dead, just out of shape” sums up their inspiration for their songs like “Atkins Diet Riot” as well as their onstage weight lifting and bread throwing antics. They are certainly a band worth checking out, preferably in a live setting in order to witness first hand, their outlandish stage presence and performance. If they have their own website, it is nearly impossible to find, but for some quick fitness tips, they are locatable at MySpace.com/benchpress3000.
Next up was Leftover Crack who were warmly welcomed after making themselves more scarce since the death of their drummer last December. They played favorites, “Crack Rock Steady” and Choking Victim hit “Suicide”, but neglected to include “Rock The 40oz” in their set. Singer, Scott “Stza” Sturgeon’s preaching was met with rowdy applause from most of the crowd who appreciated the variety of songs with cop-killing themes. The band was musically tight and a perfect opener for a much anticipated Bouncing Souls set. However, stuck in between were the Pietasters, and while they gave it their all; the crowd seemed disinterested in seeing a ska band follow two harder sets. Even “Maggie Mae”, “Freak Show” and their opener, “Drinking and Driving” which are usually crowd pleasers, were met with mere passive applause. The lack of enthusiasm from the crowd did not deter the Pietasters, though. They were upbeat (literally) and energetic on stage, acting as if they were playing to a room full of diehard fans.
Responding to “Ole” chants, the Bouncing Souls took the stage to the tune of fellow hometown hero Bruce Springsteen’s “Born To Run” blaring. Playing old and new favorites, the Souls were brilliant. Most of their set can be heard on their new live album, “Live” including “Gone”, “Anchors Aweigh”, “East Coast Fuck You” and “Johnny X” featuring the one and only namesake of the song. Contrary to normal fashion, they played “Moon Over Asbury” which they rarely include in their sets. They also leaked a new song that is sure to be featured on their upcoming release due out 06.06.06. Unfortunately, they still neglected to incorporate “Shark Attack”, as usual, but someday they will wise up and please those select fans who request it constantly. Despite that minor setback, they were phenomenal, as the unruly crowd surfing and screaming along can attest to. The Souls never disappoint, and certainly play their hearts out at home in Jersey. They’ve certainly found a way to find what’s good and make it last.
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Alien Ant Farm
Opening Bands:
Date:
Venue: The Chance (Poughkeepsie) / The Continental (NYC)
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Remember back in 2001 when Smooth Criminal was all over the radio and Alien Ant Farm was such a marketable band? I just want to know one thing, what the heck happened? They’ve had two albums since 2001’s Anthology, but have managed to stay under the radar, for better or worse. Back in September, they played an off show at The Continental in NYC which seemed like a good idea, a big band playing such a small venue, the only problem was the show didn’t even sell out. It was crowded, and yes, the show was great but it was just a little unsettling to see how quickly a star can fade.
AAF has been on tour with 311 and played an off date at The Chance in Poughkeepsie, NY with openers The Black Hand, Fantom Frequency and Another Prozac Morning. Fantom Frequency brought in a small crowd, but their dance/rock sound just didn’t cut it, especially not right before AAF. Despite the lack of much of an audience, which can be attributed to little promotion for the show, Alien Ant Farm was sensational. They played as if they were performing to a huge crowd of people. Almost like machines, the four band members play without any interaction amongst themselves onstage. Instead, they automatically go from one song to another and proceed to rock out. They are a great band to see live and certainly worth checking out beyond their hits “Smooth Criminal” and “Movies”. Singer Dryden Mitchell, who expressed his thanks to the crowd throughout the performance is certainly energetic to say the least. He is great to watch despite the strange vibes he may give off and the numerous snot rockets he blows during the show. Perhaps even more memorable is bassist Tye Zamora whose facial expressions throughout the set are absolutely priceless. The big shocker of the evening occurred when Dryden announced to the crowd that they have been dropped from their label, Geffen Records but neglected to go into detail. Perhaps a new label will put Alien Ant Farm back on the map so they begin, once again, to receive the fan support they deserve.
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The Pietasters, Big D
Opening Bands:
Date: October 12th, 2005
Venue: Knitting Factory, NYC
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It was as if it was 1998 again and the glory that was the 3rd wave was still thriving in New York City. The Knitting Factory was not over packed, which would have been ideal, but there was a great turn out considering the city was braving it’s 5th continuous day of autumn rain. Had it actually been eight years ago, the inclement weather would have been shrugged off for an opportunity to see the Pietasters in their prime. However, since it has been three long years since we’ve heard a new album from these DC natives, and there doesn’t appear to be one in the works, it’s easy for a lot of fans to forget what they’ve been missing.
Big D And The Kids Table opened the show. The kids were into them, and after all it’s hard not to be since they are constantly on tour. Seeing Big D is almost inevitable when attending a ska show these days. If you’ve never caught their set, a DVD is on the way, including footage from the Knitting Factory show… but they’ll probably be coming to a town near you before it comes out. In fact, I can almost guarantee they’ll stop there twice!
Now that most Pietasters fans are of age, they can better appreciate the array of drinking songs that the band has to offer. Their opener, “Drinking and Driving” as well as “Maggie Mae” were met with toasting and beers being passed out among the crowd. It was like one big checkered frat party. Although they’re not from New York, they are certainly at home when they play a NYC show. It was such a phenomenal performance and the Pietasters was so vibrant. When a band has a front man like singer, Stephen Jackson as well as bassist, Jorge Pezzimenti to back him up, it’s hard not to enjoy seeing them live. The entire band looks like they’re just genuinely having a good time. The choice of songs were all fan favorites such as, “Crazy Monkey Woman”, “Out All Night” and the closer, “Freak Show” which contributed to the show’s overall greatness. Although things probably will never be as they were eight years ago, the Pietasters played as if it was, and ska was the next big thing… we can only hope.
Not to take away from the fact that it was a Pietasters show, and a great one at that, but I must admit the pinnacle of the evening occurred when Stephen invited Vinnie Noble (former Pilfer) currently of Cenzo followed by none other than Coolie Ranx to do a song, together with the Pietasters. To see Coolie and Vinny on stage together again, and hug at the song’s completion got me a little misty-eyed (mock me if you must). It was amazing to see them on stage and is just building up more anticipation for the Pilfers reunion show 11.04.05 at the Knitting Factory, to which I am counting the days and you should be too.
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Motion City Soundtrack
Opening Bands:
Date: September 14th, 2005
Venue: Tribeca Rock Club
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Despite the fact that it was a CMJ show, and I expected to be surrounded by a lot of the hipster geeks who have been wandering the city with their rediculous passes strewn about their necks, Motion City Soundtrack at the Tribeca Rock Club was surprisingly a phenomenal show. If you’ve never been to The Tribeca, you should know how small it is. Tiny. Smaller than the Knitting Factory and a tad bigger than the Continental. I’ve recently seen Motion City on the Warped Tour, for three dates to be exact. While he couldn’t quite clean the oven or check his tires on stage, singer Justin Pierre conveyed an air of uneasiness at these larger Warped shows than last night when he seemed completely comfortable in such an intimate setting. He’s often jumpy and avoiding eye contact, but at this show there was even a little banter with the crowd, which was receptive to say the least. Not to mention the guy who kept yelling out “Pete Peterson” got a song sent out to, you guessed it, Pete Peterson.
If you went to the show not knowing who Motion City is, I can almost guarantee you walked out a fan and bought or stole some form of their music the next day. Everyone there was totally into these guys. Mostly true, fist-pumping and clapping Motion City fans were in attendance and able to sing the verse during “Red Dress” as Justin fell silent and let the crowd take over. They played a number of older favorites like “Capital H”, “Boombox Generation” and “The Future Freaks Me Out” from their 1999 release “I Am The Movie”, but got a better response overall for songs on their newest album, “Commit This To Memory”. Perhaps it is because Motion City Soundtrack’s live performance is beginning to be recognized as able to live up to the splendor of both their albums to date.
Personally, the show could have been a ton better for me had the crowd been moving a bit more. They were into the show, but I guess they were just not a very athletic crowd, maybe a little lazy. Not to mention the kid in front of me who was about 2 feet taller than me trying to protect his girlfriend from who knows what was completely stationary. I managed to get some great pictures from the space in between his left ear and left shoulder. I still have failed at every attempt to capture the glory that is the “moog stand” on film. For those of you who are unfamiliar, said “moog stand” is the term for when moogist, Jesse Johnson does a handstand on his moog mid way through “My Favorite Accident”. That’s right… a handstand! On a moog! It doesn’t get any better than that.
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NOFX “Wolves in Wolves Clothing”
Record Label: Fat Wreck Chords
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Band Link:
Buy on Amazon.com: link
A follow up to their last full length, The War on Errorism, it only seems appropriate that Wolves in Wolves Clothing is just as, if not more, political than the album released at the dawn of the 2004 election campaign. This latest album is not totally meant for Bush bashing, in fact his name is not even mentioned once. Oh, he’s heavily alluded to alright, just never directly mentioned. The album does take its share of direct shots at red states and republicans though, especially in “Leaving Jesusland” with the lines “‘no longer svelte, they gotta punch new holes in the Bible belt”. This song is pretty much a call to action for all forward-thinkers to migrate to either coast because “what makes this country great is dwelling on either side”.
The first song, “60%” starts off slowly, but quickly gains momentum which kicks the rest of the record into action. It is NOFX’s self proclaimed mission statement that reveals them for being much different from other bands who claim to ‘give it their all’ because NOFX, in fact are just giving it about 60%. Slacking off has worked for them so far, and their fans keep coming back for more so they must be doing something right. The final track, “60% Reprise” addresses catty bands who insult NOFX, “but still, other bands just love to hate us/ talking sh*t behind us but smiling to our face”. Fat Mike chalks it up to jealousy since his band does not “have management; we get to play loaded and only three months a year”. He then laments, “I suppose that’s how we’ll go out, played out and way after our time”. Hopefully, that won’t be for a long time, considering this album is proof that NOFX is still a strong and relevant band.
Wolves in Wolves Clothing also features “Seeing Double at The Triple Rock” and “Marxist Brothers” which were previously released merely a month before on their latest EP, Never Trust a Hippie. But Wolves in Wolves Clothing features sixteen other new unreleased tracks that are really worth checking out. It is also no doubt that NOFX will be featuring these songs in their live set as they grace the Warped Tour stage yet again this summer. With these new songs, their set is sure to be outstanding.
Although they can probably never top the perfection that is Punk in Drublic, Wolves in Wolves Clothing is evidence that NOFX can still write catchy satirical songs and their lyrical content continues to get stronger. With this album, they continue to challenge authority and encourage their fans to learn about what is wrong with America and how we have the opportunity to change things. The record is phenomenal and it is obvious that NOFX has not lost their touch of producing in your face punk albums.
RATING & SUMMARY:
Bottom Line: This album is purely amazing, NOFX never disappoint.
Notable Tracks: “Leaving Jesusland”, “The Marxist Brothers”, “We March to the Beat of Indifferent Drum”, “USA-holes”, and “Benny Got Blowed Up” (simply because it sounds oddly like “Jeff Wears Birkenstocks”
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American Distress “American Distress”
Record Label: Tent City Records
Genre:
Band Link:
Buy on Amazon.com: link
If the anti-consummerism was not a distinct reminder of the Leftover Crack/ Choking Victim/ INDK era, the music will certainly have a familiar sound (minus the random ska interjections). No, American Distress is not a mere imitation, but yet another offshoot to add to this unique grouping. Formed in August of 2001 in New York City, American Distress was a product of the IN-DK break up. The band’s formation was spearheaded by Skwert (drums) and Paul (guitar).
Vocalist XRay has a rather harsh sound at first, but the messages in his lyrics throughout the album deserve a good listen. With songs that boast lyrics like, “Everythings a copy of a copy/ Integrity is dead/ People don’t resist the ruling powers/ They sell the space out in their heads/ Empty robots sit and stare/ Tons of police everywhere/ Go out shopping don’t ask why/ You’re being watched by the electric eye” (and that is just the first track) the album as a whole will surely impact the listener as the lyrics continue to drill similar sentiment into the listener’s ears. The remainder of this self-titled debut full length is just as in your face and hard-hitting as first track, Fraudulent Times in both sound and lyrics. The lyrics are cleverly displayed in the CD booklet on colorful receipt paper near a disclaimer from the band noting that they received “no help from a corporate sponsor” as the record was put out by the drummer’s indie label, Tent City Records.
The aggressive hardcore/punk is best displayed on tracks like Fraudulent Times, On Fire, Nowhere To Go and Be The Law, the songs are not necessarily catchy but they are powerful and bring to mind old school punk with a message, a genre that is now scarce. The album includes four previously released songs (Ill Logic, Eternal Bullshit, My 3 Guns and Nowhere To Go) from their demo released June, 2003 along with eight new and original tracks. This record will certainly appeal to fans of Choking Victim, Leftover Crack and INDK as well as anyone else who can appreciate hard, thought provoking punk.
RATING & SUMMARY:
Bottom Line: Old school style hardcore/punk with a message for fans. For fans of Leftover Crack, Choking Victim and INDK.
Notable Tracks: Fraudulent Times, On Fire, Nowhere To Go, and Be The Law
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Ever We Fall “We Are But Human”
Record Label: Hopeless Records
Genre:
Band Link:
Buy on Amazon.com: link
As soon as this CD starts spinning, you might have the urge to take it out; but go with your gut, this is an emo overdose and a bit hard to stomach. After releasing an EP, Endura for Rise records in late 2003 Ever We Fall signed to Hopeless the next year. They just released We Are But Human, a 12-track album in February 2006. There is nothing that blatantly stands out about We Are But Human, it sounds like all too familiar emo. The record as a whole is a good example of a band trying for something that they are not quite yet attaining, chalk it up to this being their first full length.
Keeping in mind that Ever We Fall are young and just starting out, the musicianship is impressive at times, as with the complex changes on “Great Day For an Air Strike”. However, the shrill guitar sound throughout along with the screechy vocals have a sound not unlike two clumsy robots having a wrestling match. Singer Adam Brazie’s falsetto attempt is almost unbearable on “Late Night Dance Party” and every time he tries for a high pitch, you’re sure to cringe a little. The drums also sound out of place throughout, they sound as though they were mixed to be more prominent than any other part, and constantly compete with the vocals for the who-can-be-louder-on-the-record award. There is also a lengthy bass and drum solo on “G” that is just begging for a live clap-a-long, but the entire thing is drawn out and way too long to hold anyone’s attention.
The lyrics for the album also leave something to be desired, it often sounds more like an essay being read aloud than poetry being sung. The lines seem like sentences haphazardly strung together as in “…Series of stars slowly breaking through A collage of lights, lives and history Ditch Johnny in the Camry The evidence? We’d be burying it Getting into fights at picture shows This is how we lived…” from the first track, “You Think Like Tigers”. Sure, it is taken out of context, but the bad writing just shines through.
RATING & SUMMARY:
Bottom Line: It’s sub-par emo, you’ve heard something just like it before, but give Ever We Fall some time, they will come around.
Notable Tracks: “G”, just for the drums.
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