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BANDS: Punk
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Dancing Hobos:
Sacrifice
After reading their press material, I had very low expectations for The Dancing Hobos. It sounded just like every other explanation of every other band with a vague press kit: The poignant and explosive sound of Kevin Bridges vocal stylings must be heard to be truly appreciated fully this quote nearly made my skin crawl. The artwork on the cover looked like a terrible Photoshop (or MS Paint?!) edit. Now I know you shouldnt judge a book by its cover, but I was not prepared for this music to blow me away. Then I put in the CD. While this album isnt going to rewrite history, it certainly exceeded my expectations. The first song, What the River Knows, has a hook that definitely sticks in your head and has a nice feel to it. The second song is a disappointment. The lyrics are somewhat immature (not sure how the press kit writer can call the songwriter a master wordsmith), and the vocalist sounds like he is attempting to imitate modern rock vocals (you know what Im talking about think Creed). Into the heart of the jungle/ beneath the burning sun/ trapped here like some animal hunted/ nowhere to hide, nowhere to run. Sorry, this doesnt move me in the least bit. The rest of the album plays out in the same hit-and-miss fashion. Some are bad, some are decent. The high point of the album for me is track five, Deeper. Even though the vocalist still sounds like the guy from Matchbox 20, the lyrics in this song come across as less forced and more heartfelt: These people pass me by everyday/ they dont even know my name/ they all look the same. Its certainly an improvement. Track six, African Art, shows a departure from the bands folk-influenced sound, in favor of something world-influenced. The song sounds a little out of place on the album but does provide a nice breath of fresh air in the middle of it all. The album ends with a funky tune called Backdoor Messiah, which is a pretty upbeat closer and a nice mood change. All in all, Sacrifice isnt going to go down in history as a milestone of American music, nor is Kevin Bridges going to be remembered as a master lyricist, but for some regular dudes just getting together and making music they like, this album is a success. If these guys were to catch the attention of a major label, I think there would be potential to go places. But until then, they need to keep headin down the tracks with their guitars strapped to their backs, and a knapsack oh you get the idea. Happy Trails.
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