Thanks to the recommendation from my friend, Will, I have had the pleasure listening to this brand new debut album for the past few days. My overall impression is that it's good--not GREAT--but definitely good. With this being their first album, I think they still have some searching to do and some experience to gain before they find their true style, but with that being said, I know this will definitely make a positive impression on the general public, and hopefully they'll be able to keep recording for a long time.
I think there's a good mix of songs on here--some upbeat, some slower and more bluesy. Any band that shows variety also shows promise. They are able to pull of every style they attempt (I especially love the touch of the piano on "The Black and the White"), I just wish they had done it without their influences being so obvious. For example, "Who Cares?" is the song that would come out of a collaboration between Guster and The Killers. It's one of my favorite tracks, but I also really enjoyed The Killers' first album and pretty much everything Guster's done, so maybe that's why. Even though "The Black and the White" completely stood out from the rest of the songs with its lilting piano part, it's still a little too Billy-Joel-meets-Ben-Folds for me to be impressed with its originality.
On the upside, these guys do have tremendous talent. The lead track of the album, "Ordinary," is the best example of their potential. The first three-quarters of the song is fairly straightforward, but then lead singer Tim Warren pulls some amazing belting lines out of nowhere while lead guitarist Eric Donnelly gets in some simple, yet surprising riffs. It doesn't shock me much that this is the song that's been released as a single and is now hitting radio stations. If the whole album were more like the end of "Ordinary," then this would be an absolutely dynamite debut.
Lyrically, they're different. They have some interesting ideas that make you ponder. Some of the phrases are hard to connect, but again, they show promise. Thank goodness they are not trite and dry like so much of what's out there lately.
I have to wonder something. The Alternate Routes are not the first band to sign with Vanguard records and produce an album of prisitne recording quality, but that at the same time lacks "punch." Just like in Carbon Leaf's case, I know The Alternate Routes have the talent to be a great cutting-edge band. Maybe they played it safe because it's their first full-length try, but maybe Vanguard Records encourages bands to slide into the mainstream. Hard to say.
I think we're going to see a lot more from them in the near future, and I've heard that they put on quite a live show. Right now, they're touring mostly in the Northeast (Connecticut is their home), but based on the response from the album release, they'll graduate to national tours in no time.
I want to hear more. I want to see them take some risks and whip out something awesome. I know they can do it--I'll be waiting.
Check them out at www.thealternateroutes.com
Track Listing:
1. Ordinary
2. Who Cares?
3. Hollywood
4. Aftermath
5. Going Home With You
6. Time is a Runaway
7. Endless Conversation
8. California
9. Are You Lonely?
10. The Black and the White
11. Please Don't Let it Be
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