Driven Far Off

The latest on the indie, alternative, and rock music scene including news, music, contest, interviews, and more. Best described as your favorite place to find new bands.

There For Tomorrow – Pages EP

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Artist: There For Tomorrow
Album: Pages EP
Label: Self-Released
Purchase: Smartpunk
Release Date: March 27, 2007

Overall: 9.0
Music: 9.0
Lyrics: 8.5
Production: 9.0

Produced by my all-time favorite producer James Paul Wisner, Pages is the debut EP from rock quintet There For Tomorrow. These boys are textbook James Paul Wisner products as their riffs are heavy with energy, high on melody, and exploding with instant pop-rock appeal. If you’re a fan of Saosin, Boys Like Girls, and Hit The Lights consider yourself already a fan as There For Tomorrow effortlessly walk the line between these bands.

Pages is like a novella in itself possessing the infectious, suspenseful quality of a short story that you can’t put down. From start to finish each track will grab you in and keep you rocking. Opener “Wrong Way To Hide” punctuates There For Tomorrow’s high energy, vocally riveting performance style. Follow-up “Addiction And Her Name” is ripe with sing-along verses and get-on-your-feet riffs. I could go on to describe every track on this EP because they’re all worthy of your attention, but I’m going to save my breath and provide you a link to their myspace because hearing really is believing.

Admittedly, these Florida natives aren’t doing anything particularly new, but they do it so well that it’s easy to forget that tons of bands have already walked this walk. If There For Tomorrow don’t become your new favorite band in March, I’ll be shocked. Powerful vocals, addictive guitars, and crazy energy, what’s there to stop you from picking this up on Tuesday?!?

Track Listing:
1. Wrong Way To Hide
2. Addiction And Her Name
3. Pages
4. Waiting
5. Taking Chances

Standout Tracks:
All of them

Life In Your Way – Waking Giants

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waking giants

Artist: Life In Your Way
Album: Waking Giants
Label: Solid State Records
Purchase: Smartpunk
Release Date: March 6, 2007

Overall: 7.0
Music: 7.0
Lyrics: 7.0
Production: 8.5

After releasing two albums on Indianola then being dropped from the imprint, Connecticut natives Life In Your Way have teamed up with hardcore Christian staple Solid State for their third outing Waking Giants. If you fancy yourself a fan of melodic hardcore, Waking Giants may be a worthwhile, albeit unmemorable, addition to your record collection. Crafting songs that roar and reign but still remain highly tuneful, LIYW deliver your cornerstone sing/scream breakdowns amidst some admittedly catchy guitar parts.

Produced by veteran “farm man” GGGarth Richardson, Waking Giants delivers on most fronts, never compromising it’s hardcore elements to reach a greater appeal. Tracks like “We Don’t Believe” and “Making Waves” showcase LIYW at the peak of their genre, mixing enchanting chord progression with heavy breakdowns and solid scream/sing choices. Even songs that start off less than brutal eventually find their callousness amongst the melody (Reach The End, Salty Grave). The redone “Threads Of Sincerity” (which appeared on the band’s previous album) sounds more intense than ever, flaunting a self-assured conviction that wasn’t apparent in LIYW’s past efforts. In fact, the greatest thing LIYW has to offer in this album is their ability to punctuate their song structures. In “Worthwhile” beautifully executed vocals are complemented by Joshua’s growls before tearing away into slow-moving savagery.

In my book, there’s a fine line between raw and polished that can make or break a band. All raw and no polish makes for an earache of a listen; over-polished and under-heated lacks the heart that’s central in hardcore. Life In Your Way did a good job tight walking the line, and consequently wrote songs that shirk predictability and rigor. However, I feel the album tries to do too much in the way of proving itself to both the hardcore and melodic hardcore communities. There are lot of great ideas and riffing inherent in this album, but few of them are ever taken to completion. What’s left is something that feels like the first draft of an epic poem–tons of great stanzas, but no ultimate build up and resolution. And although LIYW make it evident that’s what they’re trying to do, the pieces just don’t seem to fit the way they should.

Furthermore, as with many releases in this genre, there’s nothing truly original that Life In Your Way bring to the table. Labelmates As Cities Burn did a similar release two years ago, and while Waking Giants comes across slightly better than Son I Loved You At Your Darkest, it doesn’t stir the tide enough to ever break a wave. This pattern, in general, has plagued Solid State’s name over the past two years. They’ve been signing bands that, for all intents and purposes, have been pretty generic.

With that in mind, if you’ve been a longstanding fan of Life In Your Way, you’ll want to pick up Waking Giants to hear the progression the band have made since leaving Indianola (because it is considerable). However, if you’re a just a passing fan of the genre, move along until something better awakes the giant.

Track Listing:
1. Reach the End
2. Worthwhile
3. We Don’t Believe
4. Making Waves
5. The Shame
6. Salty Grave
7. Help! The Arm of the Mighty
8. Threads of Sincerity
9. The Beauty of Grace
10. Judas
11. Beneath It All:

Standout Tracks:
Reach The End, We Don’t Believe, Making Waves, Threads of Sincerity

Typhoid Mary – Take Shelter EP

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Artist: Typhoid Mary
Album: Take Shelter EP
Label: Unsigned
Purchase: Interpunk, CDBaby
Release Date: January 16, 2007

Overall: 8.0
Music: 8.0
Lyrics: 8.0
Production: 8.5

Typhoid Mary deserves to be the band that you discover in 2007.Ԛ  Their debut EP Take Shelter combines the best of pop-punk/rock youth delivered in contagious, DIY-ethic doses. Hailing from Atlanta, Georgia this unsigned band has all the talent of your run-of-the-mill Epitaph or Triple Crown band, yet boasts twice the memorability factor. Produced by Zack Odom & Kenneth Mount (Cartel, All Time Low, The Fold), Take Shelter is clearly a product of these famed producers as Typhoid Mary sounds eerily like pop-rock heroes Cartel with enough of the right guitar licks and vocal harmonies to make them more reputable than a throwaway sound-alike.

Not quite original, but admittedly catchy and polished, Take Shelter manages to engage from beginning to end. Opener “Dear Deceitful” starts with a howling siren and subliminal warnings before launching into a energetic and punchy rock anthem.Ԛ  Clearly these boys know the importance of a good guitar riff because if there are any expectations for Take Shelter, then the standout riff is it. “Last Line of Defense” is particularly clever around 1:24 when vocalist Mike Cato sings “you know the phone works both ways” and an automated voice recording cuts in as a well timed addition to the music. Speaking of Mike Cato, this guy has a great voice. It’s no Stephan Christian, but it’s clear and measured and does considerable justice on tracks like “Take Shelter” and “So Sorry” where the guitars take a backseat and the vocals steal the limelight.

All the tracks on Take Shelter are relatively high energy and upbeat. I’d like to see what Typhoid Mary can do on a down tempo tune because, really, that’s where the true test of a band’s talent lays. And honestly, I don’t think these guys give themselves enough credit because I think they’d do an awesome job on a ballad despite coming off as the type of band that knows its bread and butter is in the high energy hitter. On the downside, because Typhoid Mary are almost too practiced in their song writing style, many of the songs are interchangeable. However, this is to be expected from a band’s first effort, especially from one that is still unsigned.Ԛ  Hey labels get it together and sign these guys!

Track Listing:

1. Dear Deceitful
2. Last Line of Defense
3. Take Shelter
4. Filthy Habit
5. So Sorry
6. Leaving

Standout Tracks:

Dear Deceitful, Last Line of Defense, Take Shelter

Anberlin – Cities

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Artist:Anberlin
Album: Cities
Label: Tooth & Nail Records
Purchase: Smartpunk
Release Date: February 20, 2007

Overall: 8.5
Music: 8.0
Lyrics: 9.5
Production: 9.5

Before I sat down to write this review I replayed Cities over and over under the delusion that if I listened to it enough times maybe I could shake the feeling that I was being cheated. The moment Cities dropped into my mailbox I could feel the excitement coming off me in waves. I was thrilled merely ogling it in its hot plastic casing, yet as soon as I set my ears on Cities I felt like I wanted nothing to do with it.

Now let’s get a few facts straight. Anberlin are one of my favorite bands in the world and I was all over Never Take Friendship Personal like fashion on Rodeo Drive, but someplace between Cites and NTFP, Anberlin went too ‘Pop and Technicolor’ for my tastes. That said Cities is not a bad album by a long shot. However, it stops way short on being one of my favorites. Where Never Take Friendship Personal came across as a poetic take on aggression, Cities confuses me with its continuous tightwalk between unnecessarily artificial and heartbreakingly honest.

With its snarling technical guitars and call and answer style vocals, ‘Godspeed’ reminds me most of Anberlin’s NTFP days. ‘Adelaide,’ meanwhile, could be the next radio/TRL hit waiting to happen. ‘Dismantle. Repair’ is another one of my favorites, painting a vivid story through its lyrical vignettes and harmonic guitar chords. And arguably closer ‘*fin’ does something magically with its chamber choral vocals acting like an invocation of child angels. However, that is where the buck ends as ‘A Whisper & A Clamor,’ while boasting a powerful message, starts lacking a particular energy and ends with even less gas. Acoustic ballad ‘The Unwinding Cable Car’ is a lyrical gem and vocal pleasantry, but quickly degrades into something musically repetitive and lackluster. And forgive me if this offends anyone, but the synth elements of ‘There Is No Mathematics To Love And Loss’ and ‘Reclusion’ are actually slightly irritating to me. Overall, a solid portion of this album struck me as boring and I felt much more compelled to skip tracks here than I ever did during NTFP.

While some would argue this album tests far more musical boundaries than anything Anberlin have offered in the past, I feel as though the band took the concept of unfetteredness too liberally. Older is not synonymous with better, and in some cases going from a state of good to amazing means getting worse first. Like my dad likes to say when he fixes things, “Julie, it’s going to get worse before it gets better.” And for me that’s totally fine. Just because people want Cities to be a step up from NTFP, it doesn’t mean it is. Don’t get me wrong, I definitely think Anberlin are a better band now than they were 2 years ago. Christian’s voice is more dynamic than ever, Youngâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s drumming has improved ten-fold, and Aaron Sprinkle has once again proven why he’s one of the best producers in the scene. In spite of this, something about Cities seems distractingly hit and miss and highly inconsistent.

To make a specific point of this, let me reference Thrice’s 2006 concept album Vheissu. The Artist and the Ambulance found Thrice at the pinnacle of their fanbase and acclaim, yet Vheissu came out of nowhere with it’s unusual un-Thrice sound and left fans feeling more than a little unsatisfied. While the band was as musically apt as ever, Vheissu was not their best album to date. With Thrice’s new 4 element concept album in the works, I’d like to think they have taken the criticism of Vheissu and applied it their new approach, but only time will tell. Likewise, I hope Anberlin will come to realize the missteps taken on Cities and use that to justify creating an album that shine, uplifts, and enthralls from start to finish.

Want the sentence version of this review? Pick up Cities for an above-average tromp through the lyrical stanza’s of Stephan Christian and musical refrains of Joseph Milligan. But if you want substance, staying power, AND sing-along quality go pick up or rediscover 2005’s Never Take Friendship Personal.

Track Listing:
1. (Debut)
2. Godspeed
3. Adelaide
4. A Whisper And A Clamor
5. The Unwinding Cable Car
6. There Is No Mathematics To Love And Loss
7. Hello Alone
8. Alexithymia
9. Reclusion
10. Inevitable
11. Dismantle. Repair.
12. (*Fin)

Standout Tracks:
Godspeed, Adelaide, (*Fin), Dismantle. Repair

Saosin – Saosin

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Saosin

Artist:Saosin
Album: Saosin
Label: Capitol
Purchase: Smartpunk
Release Date: September 26, 2006

Overall: 8.5
Music: 9.5
Lyrics: 7.5
Production: 9.5

Saosin.

Many speak of it, most have heard it, but only a handful live it. For those who’ve been there from the start, the name alone invokes nearly half a decade of music subculture. From the quiet infiltration of Translating the Name, to the departure of Anthony Green and the ultimate ushering-in of Cove Reber, to the Capitol signing and leaked internet demos, until now, the self-titled full length on a major label.

Some of us (me) have been waiting three painstaking years for this release, so to have it finally come to fruition is both a dream and a terror. A dream because having a fully collected album of produced songs would be a huge step up from the numerous demos, instrumentals, and live bootlegs accrued over the years. At the same time, it’s been a nail-biting experience because after all of the endless hype and anticipation what if, quite frankly, the album sucked?

Thankfully, Saosin went into the studio and emerged months (years?) later with an album they could gracefully fit their name on. Saosin (the album) is slick in production value, band branding, and showmanship. There’s no mistaking the “Saosin sound” that’s marked by Beau and Justin’s battling guitar tones, Alex’s destructive downbeats, Chris’s understated bass parts, and Cove’s vocal clarity. It’s one thing to play music and perform it well, but it’s completely another to take a feeling and encase it in sound. If you’ve ever seen them live, you know there’s absolutely nothing “small” about anything Saosin do. That statement stands true with their Capitol debut.

Listening to Translating the Name now gives the full length much more meaning. The dynamic between the two releases is obvious enough that the band’s mental shift in goals can be felt in the physical presence of the music. In an interview Chris did last year he said, “We just really want to put out a fuckin great record. We’re not concerned with genre shattering or making something that’s never been heard as much as we are concerned about being the best at what we do and keeping it that way.” And that quite simply, has always defined the relationship between Saosin and their fans. With every new song, we know what to expect because they’ve got a writing process that’s downright formulaic. The band have not so much birthed a genre, but perfected a style.

Between each song the differences are subtle, but the barebones are the same: technical, albeit repetitive pick/shred sequences, verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus song structures, abrasive energetic drumming, layered/harmonized vocals, dualistic guitar parts, and innocuous bass lines. This homophonic approach to songwriting both helps and hurts the band because while the fans are spoon-fed what they want, they never get a sense what they could be missing out on. For instance, I adore “Collapse,” “Follow And Feel,” and “Sleepers,” but the songs are largely interchangeable. And while I’d prefer this over something hit-and-miss, I don’t get a taste for the songs that could knock me off my feet either. The one exception to this is “I Never Wanted To.” Here, huge atmospheric riffs take off and never find boundaries, pushing Saosin in a completely new element that’s markedly more mellow and less technical, but surprisingly refreshing.

Still, for all its intricate riffs and instant hooks, something about Saosin does seem lacking. Lyrically, the departure of Green has weighed heavily on the band’s clever wordplay and that absence is most dearly felt when listening to song like “It’s So Simple” and “It’s Far Better To Learn” and feeling like nothing has actually been said. For me, I hear the words, but never actually bridge a connection with them beyond my desire to sing along.

At the end of the day, I’ll always parade Saosin’s craft and effort. Even after the three years of waiting, I still feel like this is a solid release for a band that had to prove so much on this album (loss of Anthony, signing to a major label, three years before new songs). But perhaps this is what I’d call “too little, too late” for Saosin. If this debut had come along 18 months earlier before the scene had taken a nosedive for the rocks, I’d probably be a lot less critical. However, in this day and age of face-paced electronic music exchange and DIY band ethic, being good at what you do just doesn’t hold a fire to what it use to. Being safe is not acceptable, and if Saosin plan to become more than a generational band they’ve got to stop playing comfortable.

Track Listing:
1. It’s Far Better To Learn
2. Sleepers
3. It’s So Simple
4. Voices
5. Finding Home
6. Follow And Feel
7. Come Close
8. I Never Wanted To
9. Collapse
10. You’re Not Alone
11. Bury Your Head
12. Some Sense Of Security

Standout Tracks:
“I Never Wanted To,” “You’re Not Alone,” “Voices”

Nevertheless Interview September 18, 2006

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Nevertheless

DrivenFarOff was lucky enough to interview Joshua Pearson from rock ensemble Nevertheless on their upcoming album Live Like We’re Alive due in stores September 19, 2006.

For introductory purposes, please state your name and position in the band.
Joshua- Lead Vocals and Acoustic Guitar

So your debut record is about to go live in just over a week, what are your feelings right now?
We are both excited and scared. We have put so much hard work and passion into the record, but I guess you never know how people will like it. That is the crazy thing about being an artist.

â┚¬Ã…”Live Like Weâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢re Aliveâ┚¬? is the bandâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s first release with Flicker, but you guys self-released an EP, From The Inside Looking In, early last year. How would you contrast the music and motivations between these releases?
The EP was written at a different place in our lives. The songs were more just forms of free thought musically and lyrically. I would say that we thought the new record out more and prepared a great deal more than we did with the EP.

You worked with the renowned James Paul Wisner on this release. How did James change the way you approached making the album?
First of all, we have always wanted to work with James. He brought out the emotion that we wanted, and he taught us a great deal about the dynamics of a song. We really concentrated on each individual part and only did things which we felt would make the song better as a whole.

What was your favorite part about making the album?
Itâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s hard to pick a favorite part. One great thing was just to be so focused on a single thing in our lives for a long period of time. For two months, we ate, slept, and breathed the album. That was tiring and rewarding.

Any interesting stories to share while your were in the studio?
One interesting thing is that, at first, none of us wanted the song, â┚¬Ã…”Timeâ┚¬?, on the record. We fought everyone about that song and insisted that it didnâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢t make the record. It took doing a demo of it in the studio and beefing it up a bit for us to see that it was, in fact, a great song. We are all happy with the outcome now!

How did Kevin Kadish add to the writing process?
Kevin is really a genius when it comes to knowing how to write a great song. I feel like we may have some good ideas, but Kevinâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s strength is seeing a song in its completion. He is great with melody and very deliberate with songwriting. That taught us a lot!

Personally, whatâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s your favorite track on the record and why?
It changes every week it seems, but I really love â┚¬Ã…”Live Like Weâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢re Aliveâ┚¬?. We wrote that song about being in this band and giving all we have to this even when there is opposition. Every day it seems there is something that could bring us down if we let it. We have to constantly make the choice to give one hundred percent.

As a Christian band, do you think you have more obligations to tell some sort of message in your songs than a non-faith oriented group? And if you think you do, why choose the medium of music to get that message out?
There is an obligation, but it also comes naturally with our writing. We try to write songs that are real to us and that can also relate to the lives of others. Honestly, our initial goal was to write songs because we all loved music, but now we see that God wants to use us to encourage people. It is a humbling thing to be able to encourage people in their lives with testimonies from your own life.

Explain the how you chose the album title â┚¬Ã…”Live Like Weâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢re Aliveâ┚¬?.
Well, as I explained earlier, that song is very important to us. After we wrote it, we thought that it would be great title track to sum up the whole album as well.

You recently shot a video for your single â┚¬Ã…”The Real,â┚¬? what was that experience like? Who did you work with?
We worked with a company called Film Stray Dog on the music video. It was a great experience! We were at the venue from about 4 PM until 4 AM, so we were super tired when it was over. It was our first time being on film at such high caliber, so it was rewarding and fun to watch!

What do you think is the hardest part about being in a band?
There are many hard parts, but the hardest is usually being with four other people a hundred percent of the time. We really are trying to learn to be servants to each other and cater to the individual needs that we all have. We try to be open and honest about our lives and what we are feeling.

My hometown is Oahu, Hawaii and this summer when I went back I heard â┚¬Ã…”The Realâ┚¬? playing on our local Christian music radio station. I guess this makes me curious if youâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢ve heard your single on Christian radio yet? If so, how did that feel?
We havenâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢t heard it in our hometown, but we randomly heard it in Colorado and also in Dallas. Itâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s a pretty crazy feeling. I was thinking that I hope we sound cool, because I donâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢t know.

It looks like you have a string of dates lined up for Shoutfest. Can you tell us a little bit about that?
We are playing Shoutfest until the end of October. There is actually a Flicker Records stage. It is a ton of fun, and all of the bands get to hang out with each other all day.

If you could tour with anyone live or dead, who would it be?
I donâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢t know if I can speak for everyone. It would be rad to tour with Dashboard Confessional just so we could watch the set every night. We are all big fans.

Is there any big Christian band (currently together) youâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢d want to tour with?
We would love to tour with Reliant K.

Whatâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s the craziest thing a fan has ever done for Nevertheless?
I donâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢t know. We get cookies all of the time. One time a guy offered me his autograph. I couldnâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢t resist.

What do you see Nevertheless doing one year from now? And what are your long term goals as a band?
I hope that we are touring and that the record is selling well in a year. We really just want to stay consistent with the art and the message for the duration of our career. It is a goal to never write a song for the sole purpose of making us a â┚¬Ã…”bigâ┚¬? band.

Is there any question I havenâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢t asked that you want to give an answer for? Shoutouts to make?
Thanks a ton for the support and taking the time to interview us. God blessâ┚¬Ã‚¦

DrivenFarOff would like to pay thanks to Joshua, Nevertheless, and Lori from the {m} collective for making this interview possible. We wish you great success on as you come upon release date!

Nevertheless – Live Like We’re Alive

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Artist:Nevertheless
Album: Live Like We’re Alive
Label: Flicker
Purchase: Smartpunk
Release Date: September 19, 2006

Overall: 8.0
Music: 8.5
Lyrics: 7.5
Production: 9.5

These days bands live and die by the sticker genre. If you’re pegged as death metal, the emo kids won’t touch you. Likewise, the indie bands are ridiculed for lack of focus. So in this time of 10 cent labels and genre stereotypes what does it mean to be a Christian band? Only Christian fans will listen to you? I certainly hope not.

Labels and producers like Tooth & Nail, Solid State, James Paul Wisner, and Aaron Sprinkle have done a lot to change the general view about Christian music, but there are still kids who hear the word “religious” and go running for the hills. Of course, if you’re like me and love the production style of James Wisner you’ll actually go seek out the next projects that he’s working on just to discover new talent. Which bring me to the introduction of Chattanooga’s very own Nevertheless.

Coming out of left field in a combustion of melodic rock similar to The Fold and Forever Changed, Nevertheless are the latest underknowns to rob the Christian airwaves. Their debut full length Live Like We’re Alive is jam-packed with 10 outstanding tracks that run the gamut of hope in an arc of agressive pop-rock and ballad-driven emo. Vocal harmonies, piano build-ups, guitar licks galore, and Josh Pearson’s voice falling like autumn rain on the clearest day in Tennessee history, that’s what Nevertheless has to offer. Lyrical catchphrases like those found on “Let It Fall” and the titletrack “Live Like We’re Alive” have tons of sing-along staying power with lines like “we are bruised and destined to lose” and “do more than survive, let’s live like we’re alive,” proving that Nevertheless are more than just a cursory listen with pretty riffs.

The musicianship is top-notch, the production arrangement is impeccable, and the lyrics are powerful without being overly obscure. This is the heart of Christian music served up on a platter sure to allure pop, punk, and rock fans alike. Pick up Live Like We’re Alive this Tuesday and help me change the tradition of only Chrisitan kids digging Christian music.

Track Listing:
1. The Real
2. Patience and Devotion
3. Time
4. Live Like We’re Alive
5. Lover
6. Losing Innocence
7. Let It Fall
8. Perfect Chemistry
9. It’s Me
10. O’ Child

Standout Tracks:
“The Real,” “Live Like We’re Alive,” “Let It Fall,” “O’ Child”