Review Summary: A short, but appealing work of heavy, alternative rock, that dabbles questionably in mainstream pop.
In 2006, a friend suggested Nural to me. At the time, they had recently released their debut album,
Weight Of The World, and one song,
Tension, had been featured on the 2005 Warped Tour Compilation. I picked up the compilation and really enjoyed that song. So when I attended Warped Tour that year, I acquired the album as well. I was a little disappointed that my favorite song on it turned out to be
Tension, the song I had already heard. Fast forward three years. Nural quietly self-released their second record,
Entitlement, in 2009.
Nural is a straightforward, heavy, alternative rock band. There’s not a lot of experimentation to be found. No novel concepts. The experimentation that is done seems to fall short, most notably on
Me Or The Music, a strange, bouncy, piano-based number. Nonetheless, they are good musicians. The first single off the record and first track,
The Hits Keep Coming, is a very bold opener. It demands attention from the beginning. The heavy guitar riffs and confrontational lyrics work together to make an aggressive track. However, much like their debut record, the first single is again arguably the best song on the record. But
Entitlement is still generally a consistent album. Most of the songs are heavily guitar-driven, but no particular instrument stands out. That is to say, the instrumentals are good, but frequently unremarkable. Piano is featured on a few tracks and provides a nice change of pace, and the guitar work on
The Hits Keep Coming and
Sweet Oblivion is exceptional.
The strongest quality of
Entitlement is the vocals, provided by Kyle Castellani. Kyle has a very melodic, appealing voice. His style is very pop-oriented and at times, almost reminiscent of Michael Jackson. But his delivery is powerful and has no trouble overcoming the instrumentals at all. The lyrics are less spectacular, but are varied and effective. They’re often somewhat aggressive or confrontational throughout the album, which I find appealing.
The entire record is pretty short, at about 33 minutes. I’m personally not a fan at all of short records, but for ten dollars, it’s still worth it. The production on the record is great. Everything is clear and blends perfectly; easily some of the best production I’ve heard on a self released record. While it’s nothing terribly special,
Entitlement is solid and certainly worth picking up.
Recommended tracks:
The Hits Keep Coming
Physics
Up Against
Say What You Will
Sweet Oblivion
Tracks to skip:
Stop Me When You've Had Enough
Me Or The Music
