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BANDS: Punk
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Friends of
Lizzy: The Answer
Like any good soundtrack to high school love, this album is perfect for those reflective nights of driving around in your beat up, dusty jalopy without much of a destination, carrying only smokes and a heavy head. Based out of Austin, Texas, Friends of Lizzy is an alt-country rock band with a good grasp on smooth pop music. Ill begin with the setup of the album because it kind of affects the way Im going to write about it. Compiled from what seems to be their whole body of work, this disc consists of their debut EP, remixed and remastered, their newly finished EP, Summersongs, and a few extra tracks tossed on the end as a bonus. The difference in the two EPs is pretty large, which causes a little split in the album. The first six tracks are very sentimental and alt-country singer-songwriter-ish, while the next four tracks have a bit of a pop punk crossover feel to them. The bonus tracks tacked on at the end are a bit more eclectic and loose. As the first EP shows, Friends of Lizzy is definitely a good, somber smoky barroom band for those more low-key, mellow nights of reflection. So I guess this makes them less of a raise your glass and stomp country rock group, and more of a head down and cradle your beer type of crew. Theyre really good at it too. The tracks are all seamless and predominately hole-less. Theres a smooth wall of music underneath the guitar and vocals. Slide guitar and lots of tremolo find themselves into the mix, as well as accordion, strings and graceful piano work. Its written in that trembley-hearted key. As the second EP roles around, the pace is picked up a bit and the rock knob is turned up a little more. With less heartbreaking chord changes, this EP dons a little more of a Drive-Thru Records heavy guitar, clubbed drum, pop-punky outfit. Its more of a head-shaker and foot-tapper than the first group of songs with more emo styled singing a la Jonah from Onlinedrawing and Far or Mr. Dashboard Confessional. It still carries a slight pulse of alt-country, though, making it a bit more interesting. The bonus tracks consist of a couple of loose singer/songwriter ballads, a great mod psyche-garage track and a sliced and spliced up remix version of an earlier track. Solid stuff. The lead guitar work and piano on the album is phenomenal. These guys have some great songs to be heard, and I smell a signing in the near future if it hasnt happened already.
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