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When I first put in this album the thought that came to my mind was:
is this off the new soundtrack to the Super Mario Brothers game?
As exciting as that would be, alas this is not. In fact it's the debut
release of a new band by the name of The Escape Frame.
They hail from the Deep South and bring with them a sound that somehow
mixes dance techno with indie rock. Each song being rather similar to
the last makes detailing harder than usual. So I'll speak in general.
On the lighter side the music is energetic and heavy on the lyrics. Neither
the bass nor the drums ever really stand out or show their stuff. But
that's alright, because the hint of presence they do have works well.
Like that of fellow rockers The Maine, this band knows how to write
music that gets you happily singing along. Mixing those lyrics with smooth
transitions and a choir-esque element puts them up there with the likes
of bands like Mae.
On the complete opposite side is the techno effects that are put together
with some crazy disco tempos and result in music that seems as though
it came from an earlier time (or decade). What are these "effects"
that I speak of? Let me elaborate: there's a significant synthesizer thoroughly
mixed throughout the entire album. And it's as though the piece from that
machine was written first and then the rest of the music around it. Sure
there is some guitar, but it's heavily electronic and not in a metal way.
Rather in a Saturday Night Fever kind of way. When all of this
is set to the vocal stylings of fairly high octave, it makes for some
music that evokes a bit of boogie-ing.
I supposed there are 2 songs that stand out enough to warrant specific
mentioning. The first of those is "Rock With You." Whenever
a band covers the notorious Michael Jackson, they have big shoes
to fill. But I have to say this one of the better covers I've heard in
quite awhile and I'm not just talking about Jackson songs. I think its
Dustin's (vocals) voice and the average key that he sings in, as
they seem to fit perfectly in this song.
The other song that I think is definitely worth mentioning was the last
one on the record, "Before We Die." This is the kind of song
that makes you want your hubby next to you. It's slow and chalk full of
love, all of which borders on "ballad" level, though it is not,
as this is not rock music. However, they have attempted to throw a bit
of that rock in with the sudden strong guitar riffs that burst out near
the end. At this point the sound of their album ventures from that of
Mae, over to another Tooth & Nail artist - Anberlin.
They're definitely unique and not easily compared to others on the scene
today. They have that going for them. For Fans Of…err…The
Bee Gees?
-Rachel Fredrickson
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