Review Summary: Unfortunately Bland.
For the last ten years I’ve been in and out of dinky local bands, playing shabby little clubs and garages until I finally realized that perhaps it wasn’t meant to be. Although I no longer play music on stage, I love sitting back, judging, critiquing and reviewing bands. Hell, that’s the sole reason I created an account on this website.
My last review was of a local band I stumbled across by accident. And in writing that piece, I was asked to jot down my thoughts on another band from around the same area, “Outlook”. While communicating with whichever member of the band asked for a write up, I asked “do you want a nice review or an honest one”? The question had to be asked, because a quick look at the bands Facebook page informed me that the members are all still in high school. I too was in high school bands. A few of them okay, but most of them several notches below average. And from the looks of some YouTube videos, the kids in “Outlook” can sure play their instruments. I’m sure the kids in this band really do “believe” this EP will take them places. I’m sure the word “tour” has been dropped amongst themselves quite a bit. Why do I know this? Because I was the same kid. I only wish that I could scream from a mountain top at these kids, and tell them that the real key to happiness is by promotion. They won’t find any success on the road. They’ll find it on Twitter. By taking a quick glance at the bands Twitter page, I realized they have done no real work, they have very minimal followers, and instead of taking the last year to promote the release of a new EP, they’ve sat around and done nothing. The point of this review isn’t to hurt the band, but to point them in the right direction, and address the folly of their ways.
On to the music.
When I first glanced at the tracklisting, I did smile. Not in a good way but in the “are you kidding me?” way. The first song (an intro song none the less) is called “Timshel”. Here’s a little known fact about high-schoolers. They think they’re all super damn smart. Not only is the phrase taken straight from the book “East of Eden”, but it is also the name of a “Mumford & Sons” song. Though I’m sure that at least one member of the band has read the book they extracted the song name from, I find it absolutely tacky that (on a first EP none the less) they wouldn’t try to create a piece that is undoubtedly their complete and total own, whether that be in song titles, song content, and album cover. But in the end, it is an intro track so I would have no problem writing it off and continuing.
However, the next two song names are also quotes from “The Catcher and the Rye”; which is a great book – possibly even my favorite. But something about the first three songs on a debut EP being named after books that each and every member of the band is too young to truly appreciate grates me to my core. As I read through the names of the songs again, a thought came into my mind: “get ready for an EP filled with bad high school poetry, Kwazi” – and I was correct. I’m hardly a stiffler for lyrics – but many of the songs here are painful to listen to. Partially because they’re being belted out by a 16 year old named Jack. But also because naming songs on a debut EP after book quotes comes off arrogant. Not only arrogant, but immature, self indulgent, faux-brainiac, elitist and borderline hipster to say the least. More of that later.
I hate to rail on these kids, but I am a critic. If these kids ever expect to sustain in a cut-throat music industry, they’ll have to learn to listen to some constructive criticism. They themselves asked me for an honest review – and I’m giving them one. They can chose to cry about it and write more atrocious lyrics about their experiences with Mr. KwaziYolo, or they can try and understand what I’m saying – and use my criticisms to better the next release.
Once the EP gets past the painfully unnecessary intro track, it really picks up. Track two (I’m not going to refer to its proper title) is infectiously fun to listen to. The instrumentals are indeed well written – I’ll give them that. The music alone is a well done balance of hook-laden “State Champs” poppiness with a definite math-punk influence akin to “Tiny Moving Parts”. Unfortunately the kick-ass instrumental is ultimately destroyed by the vocals. Lambert’s voice isn’t bad per-se, but it is painfully ill-fitting to the “twinkle-daddy-shoegaze” genre the band advertises themselves as being. The vocals can only be described as stereotypical, and his vocal range is virtually non-existent. He sings confusingly fast, speeding through the lyrics like he’s ready to be done – but holding out the last note of every sentence. This would be fine once in a blue moon. But no – every sentence is delivered the same: “blah-blah-blah-blah-blah (pause), blaaahhhhhhhuurrrrrghhhh”. He mixes the nasally tone “New Found Glory” (unfortunately) showcases time and time again with the annoying pronunciations of Tom Delonge. I don’t like singers that sound like constipated, robotic, prepubescent teens. And by jove this singer sounds like one – but one that is really trying to sound good. And though I applaud him for trying, I can only also warn him to stop, or get vocal lessons.
As I continued to listen to the EP, I realized how hard it would be to get past the mello-dramatic lyrics. Much of the time I’m left wondering “what the hell is he talking about”? Similar to what Jesse Lacey sometimes does, I feel like whoever composes the lyrics for this band just rhymes things they think sound “emo” or cool together. For instance: “I won’t try to romanticize the aspects of life where we both die inside”. What in the hell does that mean? Has Jack ever died inside? Has he ever ‘romanticized’ anything or anyone but himself? Has he completed puberty? I can respect that these kids are trying to be more than a high school band, but some of this bad high school poetry lyricism is too much for me. In addition to all of that, track three ends with a harmonized yelling of the lyrics “pray to God and take a stand”. Great.
At the end of the day, the two most tolerable tracks are the last two. It seems like they saved the best for last – especially lyrically. I am happy to announce that neither of these songs features the genre they’ve unintentionally created: “thesaurus-core” – which basically means rhyming words that have nothing to do with each other – with each other. Track five especially is driving, has a killer chorus and a huge crescendo that builds like none other. I will indeed download and deposit this track onto my iPhone.
I’m giving the EP 2.5/5 – for both Track 4, Track 5 and for the instrumentals. If I could have just instrumental tracks of the EP – I would take them. The guitar work is flawless, and the drums are creatively composed. With some work and effort, the band could definitely turn into something cool within the emo/indie scene.
Finally, I will point out that track three claims that “Nothing is Fact, everything involves perspective”. This is untrue. Fact one, The Catcher & the Rye is a great book. Fact two, I am a nice person, contrary to how this review might paint me. Fact three, Outlook has potential to definitely grow as a band. They just need to grow up themselves.
