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Don't Look Down: Start the Show
I think it is important to be careful when reviewing punk albums, especially pop punk albums. The entire punk rock concept is based on simplicity, creating something striking and significant out of 3 or 4 chords in a mere two or three minutes. So, how can a punk album be criticized for being too simple and unoriginal when the simplistic qualities should be exactly what give it value? Despite particular simplistic
elements that tend to define the punk sound, there are certainly
differences between good punk and bad punk, and one of them is the quality of
the vocals--which is this albums greatest weakness. Lead singer
Ryan Ogrens vocals sound way too forced and unnatural on most of the tracks,
which, in his defense, seems to be a poor characteristic common to the entire
pop punk genre. On a few tracks, some cheesy production effects cause the
vocals to sound too artificial, with too many layers.
Since this was the bands first experience in a real studio, perhaps on
the next effort, the group will be less prone to use every little production
trick on their music. And without
the bells and the whistles, Im guessing a live Dont Look Down show just
might be pretty good. On Start
the Show, the South Jersey bands sophomore effort, its entirely
possible that any unoriginality can be attributed to the bands youngness,
which shines through ten fold. The
subject matters of the songs are soaked in teen angst/early twenties confusion
with lyrics like, Twenty-one, still so young, when will I really begin,
Why cant you feel the way I do for you, and Sitting at home, all by
myself, thinking of things I never did.
The youngness also shows in the way of the playing.
As I said, I hesitate to fault them for simplistic songs, but many of the
tracks on the album do sound incredibly similar; after five or ten listens, they
still werent completely distinguishable. Having said
all that, I still believe this is the kind of album that, given the right
promotion, could have a break out hit within the current environment of the
music industry, though we all know that is not necessarily a testament to the
albums quality. The songs, at
their best, are just plain catchy. When
my friend sent me this CD, he said, Doesnt it sound like something we
would have listened to in the 9th grade? and I have to smile and
agree. Heavy comparisons to the likes of MXPX and Blink 182 are inevitable. Ironically, Ogren sings on the title track, All the songs have been sung, and I have to agree, but I wont really get into how track two sounds just like that Lit song, and how tracks five and eight sound like other songs I havent put my finger on yet. Ill simply say that it will be interesting to observe the future path of this band as they develop their sound and style.
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