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Ringsend: Vertigo
Ringsend
describes its sound as intelli-pop. Im
not exactly sure what that means Ive heard it used to describe the music
of people such as Aimee Mann, Jon Brion, and Grant Lee Phillips, but this disc
doesnt really sound anything like that.
This Richmond-based four-piece mixes tight harmonies and solid
instrumentation together to make a fine debut disc.
Throughout
the album, the focus of remains on the vocal harmonies of Chris Edwards and Josh
Harvey, along with Harveys great keyboard work.
This is to be expected, as Harveys made a name for himself over the
past few years by sitting in with bands such as River and Agents of Good Roots.
Ringsends Richmond peers have returned the favor: JC Kuhl plays
saxophone on one track and bass player Stewart Myers mixed the album.
Except for two covers, Edwards and/or Harvey wrote all of the songs on
the CD, which have a heavy pop-jazz influence with some electric guitar spread
throughout. The bass is solid, and
the drumming (by Rob Hubbard, although Anthony Allen occupies the drum seat now)
at times calls to mind Brian Jones from Agents of Good Roots.
My only concrete complaint with the album is that there arent many
standout vocal melodies; the harmonies are great, but when
theres only one singer, the songs can end up sounding somewhat flat.
The
two strongest tracks on the album are the title track with its lush keyboard
parts and The Prayer of St. Brendan, which features some of the best
singing on the disc. On the other
end of the spectrum, the two cover songs stand out least.
The first is a version of the John Prine song Angel from
Montgomery, which lacks dynamics in the performance.
This is probably due to the song itself, rather than the performers
it doesnt really have any kind of melody whatsoever.
The other cover is a version of Happy Together by the Turtles, and
while the performance is fine, the song ends up sounding kind of high school
choir-ish. All in all, this is a very good debut by a promising band. Musically, Ringsend has a refreshingly cool sound, and with a little work on the vocal melodies, the band could end up being a force to be reckoned with, perhaps turning into another powerhouse Virginia band.
This album can be purchased at Awarestore. LEFT OFF THE DIAL'S Ringsend page About LOTD Contact/Staff Advertise Home All content © LEFT OFF THE DIAL 2001-2005. All rights reserved. |
