Review Summary: A smorgasbord of influences make Write This Down a rather unpredictable debut.
Here before you are three men and a puma. Yes, you read that correctly – three men and a puma. The trio are situated around a rather luxurious lavender hot-rod of sorts, powdered with blemishes of snow and adorned with icy stalactites on the bumper.
Lost? It gets better.
Each person’s appearance differs incredibly from their neighbors. On the left, Drummer Chad Nichols sports a straight-billed cap complete with brand sticker in place and a black tank top showcasing his sleeve of tattoos – an appearance one would expect at a metalcore show. On the right, Guitarist Nate Rockwell, with his straight, flowing hair, wears a black, long-sleeved shirt – an appearance that screams modern rocker. In the center, Vocalist Johnny Collier, full beard and all, flaunts a fur jacket, aviator sunglasses, and mocha-colored boots – something one might see at a super underground punk show.
My case in point is by looking at the cover of Write This Down’s Self-Titled debut album, one would have no idea what to expect from these three individuals from Minneapolis, Minnesota. Yet, when combining these different people into a musical group, their collective appearance illustrates what type of sound they have to offer. Write This Down take a modern rock approach, yet mix in elements of pop, punk, and metal to create a debut album that while at points is very refreshing to hear, also makes one wonder if these three musicians could have made a more focused sound.
The record begins rather nonchalantly – or so I thought - with “Alarm the Alarm.” Through a majority of the song, Write This Down sound like they are doing a Relient K impression with more muscle until the bridge of the song, where the sound of the track gets considerable heavier. The guitars breakout, their chords bending towards the heavens, with Collier’s screams feeding the intensity. As soon as the cacophony starts, it ends. I was puzzled.
Write This Down wear their influences on their sleeves I suppose because the third track, “Renegade” sounds like something that could have been released from He Is Legend’s I Am Hollywood, with Collier trading harsh shouts with smooth melodies, all wrapped together with Nate Rockwell’s southern, pummeling guitars. Only two songs separated from Write This Down at their heaviest finds the trio at their poppiest with “Center of Attention.” This song is more accessible than a Wal-Mart, with a chorus that will appeal to any teeny-bopper born with functioning ears. These two songs display the dichotomy that is Write This Down’s sonic presentation, going from ear-splitting metal assaults to Billboard Top 20 pop appeal in the press of a button.
This listening affair turned ever weirder when “Citadel’s” opening piano notes crept out of my speakers. Now I had heard it all. “Citadel” is one of the two ballads on the album, the other being the sub-two minute, acoustic album closer, “Heaven and Hell.” This piece has Write This Down at their softest, with Collier’s vocals crooning over the sparse piano leading the way until the music reaches a jarring crescendo and then eventually subsiding, devolving back into the sparse piano notes that first welcomed the listener at the beginning.
One last notable song on the album would be “Kings and Counselors.” This song demonstrates the best of what Write This Down has to offer – heavy guitars, well-placed screams, and passionate singing, saturated with a punk undercurrent.
Man, what a perplexing debut this is. I never figured I would listen to a band on Tooth and Nail travel the audio spectrum from metallic onslaught to radio hit pop to misty eyed piano ballad in the course of four songs. This of course, while oddly charming, is the band’s ultimate downfall – playing too many different styles instead of blending them together effectively.
Write This Down, a band featuring a name ambiguous enough to match their debut
Self-Titled album’s artwork. Give Write This Down a listen and you might be so utterly confused that you would feel compelled to.
Wait, what?
