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BANDS: Punk
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Brookfield:
Maybe This Time
The album is full of energy and intensity that kicks into full gear with opening track Dreams. Lead singer Mikey Jerdan has a melodic voice that has great screaming ability. While the music and vocals are both reminiscent of earlier 311, the song is still solid. In the following track, She Does, Brookfield slides away from the reggae and more towards a heavier Third Eye Blind with Jerdans vocals picking up many similarities to Stephan Jenkins. This upbeat piece would likely be very effective at getting people on the dance floor. When the third track, Sight of the Blind, started, I couldve sworn I was listening to 311s You Wouldnt Believe. The beginning is almost exactly the same. Luckily the guys soon departed from the familiar sound but in my opinion, it wasnt soon enough. Further down the line, Cherry Dip shows us Brookfields lighter side, with layered, atmospheric guitars that are very different from the rest of the album. Its a contemplative moment with hushed vocals. This then bleeds into the companion song Set Go with harder guitars and moments throughout the song that reflect more of the softness and instrumental details of Cherry Dip. However, I was disappointed to witness a half-hearted attempt at spoken/rapped lyrics. I could also do without the odd commentary throughout the album. This is especially annoying with the 50 seconds of talk about being bad ass that starts out the album closer, Steubler. I was almost knocked out of my seat to hear the beautiful acoustic music that followed. And then to my great disappointment, the song ends with about 30 seconds more of stupid commentary backed to a silly beat. Were the guys unsure about their softer side and felt the need to surround it with more manly material? What a sad way to end an album. Id like to see this group stray a little further away from the vocal styles of their influences and really work on developing their own sound to its fullest. However, Maybe This Time is a musically solid effort from a new band that could use a little work on their track arrangement. In a time where singer-songwriters and emotionally charged punk rockers dominate the scene, these guys ask us to take a step back a few years and appreciate the melodic guitar rock that once dominated the radio. For those of you that yearn for that day, this album is for you.
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