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BANDS: Punk
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Watch It Burn/Tiltwheel: Twice the Dose (Split EP)
I hate to say it, but when I threw this split EP into my CD
player, I groaned to myself, Well, here goes another pop punk record.
Its not that I dislike pop-punk; its just that ever since Blink 182
hit it big, the genre has been converging into a uniform, uncreative sound as
majors and indies alike rush to sign the next Sum 41.
While this split EP has its good moments for both bands, the case in
point of the pop-punk problem is the small difference between the two bands
sounds. (To be fair, Tiltwheel has been around since before the pop-punk
explosion, though that doesn't mean they're not influenced by it.) The disc actually starts off great with Sad Songs Never
Die by San Diegos Watch It Burn. This tune is without doubt the most
intense of the six on the EP. Watch
It Burns other two tracks dont live up to the opening tune, particularly
Im Sleeping at the Beach Tonight, which sports the lyrics, This song
reminds me of a Jawbreaker song that I havent heard in so long. I hope hes not talking about the song hes singing,
because that would be just a little too much to swallow. San Diegos Tiltwheel kicks things off on track four with
Hold My Hand to Make Them Go Away which has the same standard, generic
opening chords as about a million other radio-friendly, pop-punk songs.
Then, unexpectedly, the lead singer chimes in with his gruff vocals that
reminded me a lot of Al Barr's, the lead singer of the Dropkick Murphys.
Rock! I had been expecting
the streamlined, invariant vocals that are synonymous with the genre, so this
was a nice surprise. But just like
Watch It Burn, Tiltwheel blew their load on the first song.
The bands next two tracks are characterized by the same generic guitar
chords, except this time the singers voice is flat. Its a shame because the more rough-around-the-edges vocals
of Hold My Hand sound like they came more naturally. Maybe pop-punk will eventually merge with this garage rock
revival thing thats been going on lately, and bands like this will manage to
let loose with a less contrived sound. If
anything, Im sure seeing both Watch It Burn and Tiltwheel in concert (which
you can do because they are touring together) would be much more exciting and
dynamic than listening to this EP.
Releases from Watch It Burn are available at Amazon, Insound, and CD Universe. Releases from Tiltwheel are available at Amazon and Insound. LEFT OFF THE DIAL'S Tiltwheel page LEFT OFF THE DIAL'S Watch It Burn page About LOTD Contact/Staff Advertise Home All content © LEFT OFF THE DIAL 2001-2005. All rights reserved. |
