Review Summary: 'Blue in the Face' sees doubleDrive in overdrive
Let’s not beat around the bush and say it right away – the doubleDrive debut
1000 Yard Stare was impressive in its absolute mediocrity: while without any outstanding features it was not a complete failure. All songs were solid but got successfully lost in the overall muddy flow of alternative rock, which poured on the ears of listeners back in the day, so it was unclear what the young band expected. What were they trying to achieve eagerly falling into the same trap as their contemporaries?
Maybe because of that, maybe because such were the circumstances, but the next (and last) release from the Atlanta guys
Blue in the Face comes out after four years. However, this time the result ends up being completely unexpected. The new LP plays out in so many colors, it is surprising where they’ve all come from. No, don’t get me wrong, the genre backbone remains the same – it is still alternative rock tailor-made for the radio. But the diversity of various shades strung on it may catch those familiar with the debut off guard, and it sweeps you away despite limitations inherent in the genre.
Nevertheless, the opening song
11:59 doesn’t hint at too many deviations from
1000 Yard Stare, though to be as objective as possible it possesses stronger hooks than any of the cuts on the previous LP. The situation turns to something more interesting on the second track
Imprint, with its subtle strumming changing into reverb-filled main melody and loudly exploding in the chorus. Frontman Donnie Hamby holds his ground, not falling behind his brothers-in-arms but oftentimes outshining them. His energetic performance and emotional charge do not let go for a second, taking – no, dragging, – you through the waves of the song. To be honest, such intensity knocks you down at first as absolutely nothing indicated this turnaround.
On the rest of the tracks doubleDrive’s hold does not ease up. The band demonstrates top performances and a clear understanding of the purpose, tossing in and juggling seemingly simple but effective tricks, it is astonishing. If one tries to disassemble them, the picture will not be too flattering: constant adherence to the standard structure of ‘verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus’, overdriven guitar riffs and thunderous drums that can be seen in every second rock song should not produce such an effect. Still maybe because chips fell as they did or maybe because Mars was in alignment with Jupiter or due to strong tide of inspiration, but everything works surprisingly tight. A little bit of syncopation adds a fresh flow to the stagnant world of alternative rock, and
Blue in the Face brings only positive impressions.
Curiously, regardless of its strong sides the album went practically unnoticed, leaving no distinct imprint in the music history. Unfortunately, it turned out to be the last release from the band that seemingly only managed to hit the rich vein of creativity. As a result
Blue in the Face can be called another pearl that failed to find a wider audience, similar to, say,
Revis which produced one great album and then imploded into nothingness. So if you have a chance to listen to this undoubtedly worthy collection, I recommend you take it.
