The debut full-length from SCC shows that SCC opted for a less blasting sound(which only slightly disappointed me) for a morass of lyrical... eschew, to say at the least.
(NOTE: this album is best when preceded in listening with the Like a Moth Before The Flame EP. with that EP placed before it (for me, both fit on an 80 min. cd,) it receives a 5/5)
Where to begin? Well, first off, I'll tell you that I love all rock, ranging form Deathmetal (Dying Fetus, Arch Enemy) to piano driven classics (Sherwood, past SCC) and everything in between (AFI, The Beatles, Genesis, UnderOATH) and I must say, this comes out as such:
A band fronted by a keyboardist, with ranging guitars, a (VERY VERY SLIGHT) rural/countryish over glow, making it the perfect southern/cali indie record. The sound of the Alabama-bred quintet is still a rich amalgam of rock and post-rock elements, with jangly guitars predominant and keyboards relegated to a tasteful backup role, both of them supporting plain-guy vocals and frequently indecipherable lyrics (blame it on the guitar-heavy mix and on singer Kevin Jones' rather lazy diction).
What it all adds up to is a solidly better than average album that doesn't exactly stick in the brain for days after you hear it, but does do a good job of holding your attention while you're listening.
The album opens up with classic indie-industrial whurrs, and a tambourine, and an acoustic guitar, before pounding keys, harder guitar during the chorus, with statements of we don't like this, not once...
The second track, Empires, opens with a slight campfire guitar solo, and theme, starting with finally, were finding this is the morning, of six eyes, versus cold dark, stares... and the chorus, slightly harder, with jangly keys, "so this is how, oh this is how it comes to hand, a meeting ground, between everything and all that’s been..."
Track Three, Gates of Dis is a killar single, even if there was no video... possibly the hardest hitting song, and lyrically brilliant, a highlight. Starts with, "commit your body to advice you can't live with, it's hard enough to lose a life that you once lived" before hitting into a kinda synth rock into the chorus, "you have changed your reasons, now you're locked and it's too late... you got no redemption with your ways
..."
Track Four, a gathering of shades, starts off much more bland musically, but lyrically is the same standard. The chorus beefs it up, with slightly riffing guitars, and statements such as, "Just Don't let it go, don't let the loss of control, keep you in fear, keep you in harms way..."
A kind of doowap instrument work, kinda campfireish feel, but haunting lyrics, depicting the unknown, and suicide... "and those these eyes were once those of an artist failure has relieved me of a face, and I am now aware that I am only the brushstrokes on the headstone of a man that never lived..." possibly the worst musically, yet the best lyrically, making it a topper
track six, YAY upbeat again!! wait? no? yes? huh? rather upbeat beginning, slowly going to a kind of death march sorrow, "we sing the saddest songs cause we don't know what we want, we want more and want it cause we're scared to say it, we are the children's lips thirsty for just a glimpse..." and then the song becomes a soft-yet-heavy-hitting rock anthem, with a bashing drum beat, and blazing guitars, going to, "so the sun tells the moon, "yeah you should've been a star", the reply is a tune, oh but the sun just stops."
track seven, a brief intermission, is well, NOT an intermission, merely an acoustical of beauty. guitar, and one man singing. pretty simple, yet more campfiry... "a mother went up to the mountain, she said it was for gold..." mostly like a country song, yet about as far from country as you can get, (on this side of the spectrum) oh, and clopping horse sound thingies... a really surreal experience.
Track's eight, the Laughing man, starts up with about a minute of, well, cool intro stuff, and challenges (okay, beats) gates of dis as the most rocking track here. once the drums stat crashing in with the disjointed riffs, we hear, "Mother Mary was a friend to me, she went down to the freak house, she never wanted to leave..." then back low, back high, and just a roller coaster of killar, pure, simple rock.
yet another intro song, Echolalia. yet once the drums and guitar come up, I think sunrise. (don't ask) after 2 1/2 min of just music, you hear singing. "a shades of Morales and gray... some gray shades, left me, a quiet understand..." then, we get into a killer chorus, "So they want to be good, but it hurts, so they want to be bad but they don't want there’s to be but they shadows have their way with everyone..." and the song keeps up the upbeat way, with synth weaving in and out.
viola. track ten. Titled the Fields of Ius, is remarkably different form most rock bands. most reminiscent of Wezzer's Pinkerton's butterfly (as a choice to end) we get a single guitar, near whispered lyrics, and total calamity. the chorus rides, "but I must carry on, slow to rise, and tears through the waves like ghosts. so so fragile, so pale and oh, just like, my own... and I can not recall, knowing what we find though we have above..."
SUMAMRY: IF you are in need THE PERFECT relax/emotion cd, pick this. its indie, with a blow of Emo (real emo pure emotion, not stabbing) and just plain rock, the way it should be. true to itself. (F**k GC...)
HIGHLIGHTS: #3,4,7,9,10
FANS MAY ALSO LIKE: AFI - Sing the Sorrow, Peter Gabriel - Hits, Atreyu - The Curse
RATING: A -to- A+
-- welladjusted08
