Review Summary: Torchbearers of Wilkes-Barre emo put in a valiant first effort.
If Kansas Had Trees are not a band from Kansas. I know, I'm shaking in my boots about it too. I was all prepared to talk about The Get Up Kids and the connection between midwest emo and pop punk, but now I won't, because these rascals are from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Jokes aside, If Kansas Had Trees already have big enough shoes to fill without worrying about the gaping expanse of the American Midwest. Being an emo band from Eastern PA and carrying the torch for bands such as Title Fight and Tigers Jaw is no easy task, but IKHT comes pretty dang close to capturing the flag with their debut album.
Where You Thought You Would Be strives to encapsulate the fear and excitement of young adulthood. Savoring those last moments of familiarity before life trajectories steer you and your loved ones apart. A thousand possibilities at your fingertips and a penchant for feeling lost. Yada yada.
"I can't tell if I am doing anything right, and I am afraid of losing everything" croons lead singer Joey Nardone as bright, fuzzed out guitar melodies punch their way through the humid air of summer. The dreamy-nostalgic alt rock influence of Title Fight really shines through on tracks like "Decay" and "Circles", but the band also injects a healthy dose of tappy American Football riffs and dorky midwest sensibilities into the album to keep things from feeling like an imitation. There are some nice dynamic builds and releases baked into the songwriting too, which are elevated even further by the stellar drum work. Take seventh track "Swallow" for instance, where gentle snare rolls and rim clicks over a bed of plucked strings give the impression of a sleepy marching band shuffling through morning dew grass before the volume cranks up. It's in the stop-and-go moments of the album where the band's musicianship really shines as they bounce ideas back and forth like a hacky sack in the smoke pit.
Unfortunately, much like real life, the youthful excitement of
Where You Thought You Would Be lulls a bit in the middle, and gives way to mundanity and a feeling of being stuck during the final two tracks. Especially during the closer, the tapping riffs and sleepy rhythms just tend to drag on in a frustrating manner without ever taking off or feeling innovative. Thankfully, the first half of this album is so strong (and the back half is still held up by highlight "Stubborn") that I often forget how things end when I hit the replay button. If Kansas Had Trees ultimately got tackled 10 meters away from the goal post, but it's okay. They put in a valiant effort that put their team on the map, and made their hometown of Wilkes-Barre proud. Lets hope for a sophomore glow-up.
