***Disclaimer***
***I love music. I love finding new bands. I
get a little bit over excited when i find something
good. When i am excited i don't stop talking.
Sorry.***
With nearly every person that has a keen interest
in music now in a band or an aspiring club DJ,
it is a hard job to break through the masses and
make yourself stand out. The ease of distribution
of music and video via the internet combined with
cheap bedroom recording setups has resulted in
everyone wanting you to listen to 'their new band'.
This isn't always a bad thing, the quality of
recordings can be very high due to the popularity
of music technology based courses and entry level
DSLR cameras now shooting video that can help
to create a professional feel to low budget music
videos. Sadly, young bands often forget that these
tools are a place to start out, and that the real
players in the industry still spend tireless months
in studios around consummate professionals. When
an album is released is it released with an attention
to detail that travels far beyond the music, but
encompasses the image, vibe and message that the
band want to portray. Its not about spending loads
of money on a release, but making sure that your
first impression is enough to get you noticed.
The band i would like to introduce today clearly
knows how high the stakes are. Hailing from the
Surrey / Essex area, 'Searching Alaska' have watched
bands grow from the darkened basement stages in
small pubs, to the bright lights of the main stages
of Reading and Leeds festival. In recent years,
local bands You Me At Six and We Are The Ocean
have taken the UK by storm and Searching Alaska
have certainly been paying close attention. Their
debut EP 'Summits" arrived to our email with
an accompanying press release and promotional
photography. No bedroom recordings can be found
here either, only five professionally recorded
tracks mastered by Paul Leavitt (Emarosa, Set
Your Goals, All Time Low, and VersaEmerge). A
great first impression that made me excited to
hear what the band has to offer.
Pressing play on the first track 'Step Back' you
are brought into the album with guitar feedback
reminiscent of 'This Will Be The Death of Us'
by Set Your Goals. Soon after we are introduced
to a rhythmic chugging of guitars and drums that
set a clear tone for the track. I couldn't help
but be reminded of early breakdowns from Decade's
'Lost at Sea'. The recorded sound is good but
lacks the overall depth that studios such as Stakeout
have been giving bands of a similar genre for
many years. The introduction of gang vocals only
strengthens the link to Decade in my head, but
with one major thing dragging them away into their
own unique sound. Lead vocals are powerfully given
at the very front of the mix by Christina Rotondo.
A risky move by any band, the immediate temptation
is to exclude their place against male fronted
bands and pigeon hole them into comparisons again
bands such as Paramore and VersaEmerge.
My immediate worry that this band would be discounted
as the world looks for the 'new' Paramore quickly
turned into a smile as i realised that neither
of the aforementioned bands came to mind when
the vocals kicked in. Christina has been a popular
face on Youtube for many years, racking up the
thousands of views on covers from Katy Perry to
Architects. The practice seems to have payed off
well, and at 19 years of age, she has a powerful
and unique sounding voice and has also managed
to avoid the infectious american accent that plague
so many UK bands. The band are obviously proud
to have such an amazing talent fronting the band,
but i couldn't help but feel the gang vocals were
lost a little in the mix and the lead vocals sitting
a little too far in front of the rest of the band.
Christina clearly has the talent to sing any style
of music, but the focus of pronouncing every word
perfectly and producing technically amazing vocal
track has resulted in a vocal take that seemed
to lack the conviction that is needed when accompanying
gang vocals.
Hitting the verse of the track, the vocals sound
more at home with strong lyrics and a good melody
that the bounce of a Hit the lights track, but
with the backing of You Me At Six. The guitars,
bass and drums are tight and drive the track along
nicely, i expected a few more breaks to add interest
between vocal phrasing but its simplicity allows
you listened to start to immerse themselves into
the track. The chorus breaks in with the catchy
and bouncy hook from the introduction. A great
sign of a strong track is the lyrics are instantly
recalled and i found myself nodding my head along.
A double chorus was a good choice here, and i
can already feel that this track will be going
over and over in my head for the rest of the day.
An unexpected middle eight hits straight out of
the chorus, which throws the track into a very
different dimension. I feel like my iTunes has
skipped track and gone onto the Fuel album 'Something
Like Human', with the added guitar licks from
Lost Prophets 'The Fake Sound of Progress'. Im
thrown a bit if I love it or hate it, but it does
demonstrate some good skills from guitarists,
Jake Ringsell, Toby Campen and Drummer Jamie Abela.
Before i can make up my mind on my feelings on
the interlude we are back into a second verse.
I am already picturing what this song would look
like when performed live. The chorus has already
been pushed out my head by the complex middle
eight, but as if the band understands the sonic
pounding they have just put me through, they end
the track without a final chorus. I feel a bit
beaten and bruised by the assault, similar to
when you leave a stadium gig after spending a
few hours at the front. Broken, but buzzing with
adrenaline and excited to do it all again.
Track two, 'Puzzles' starts off on a much slower
and calmer note, with a slightly distorted guitar
being strummed with the promise that something
big is to follow. The vocals enter and the softer
style of introduction allows Christina to demonstrate
her amazing lower vocal range. Unfortunately this
is accompanied by a thin and harsh lead guitar
sound that distract me away from the lyrics a
bit. The song drops in with a much rockier feel
than the previous track, the omission of bass
played Damien Mole from the very beginning means
his entrance is well received, adding that needed
low end and rhythm to the track. The lead guitar
continues of with 1980's levels of reverb but
it is nice to hear a good lead guitar line. As
the verse kicks in we are introduced to another
strongly written piece of music, that although
it suffers from the same lack of variation from
the opening track is held together with good lyrics
and melody.
Many of the small downfalls from the first track
continue, with gang vocals being distant and some
phrases of the lyrics needing a lot more emotion
than they are given. Its uncomfortable to hear
someone swear in a song if they don't sound like
they mean it, especially if they are as well spoken
as Miss Rontondo. Despite these small niggles
a strong chorus helps keep the listeners interest,
with layers of backing vocals adding depth to
the track. At the end of the second verse, the
track breaks down to a bass drum and lead guitar,
baiting the listener for the drop. As the rhythm
guitars kick back in i can't help but feel the
limitations of the studio has held the track back
from giving the punch it really needed. Christina
once again demonstrates her impressive vocal ability
with skilled vocal run, but it seems unnecessary
and i wish there were some strong male backing
vocals to back her up and add to the emotion of
the track. The new guitar line and tone however
has me smiling and nodding my head again.
The heaviness of the track is short lived as the
track once again breaks down. Although the production
lacks the polish and refinement of tracks from
Longwave and Stakeout, they do demonstrate some
good production values as the next part of the
song demonstrates. Breaking down to an arpeggiated
guitar line, layers of vocals and sustained guitar
notes, the track successfully creates a sense
of intenseness and emotion building to a final
repeat of the chorus. Once again, the strength
of the song is demonstrated as they have the listener
nodding their head from the first beat of the
chorus and feeling satisfied on the last stroke
of the lead guitar.
'Walk on Worlds' continues with the more rock
based feel from Puzzles. Beginning with a great
solo guitar line, you instantly start tapping
your foot along and rocking out when the rest
of the band kick in. Vocals as always are strong,
but high in the mix, so much so in this song that
they feel a little disconnected, but the quick
progression of the track keeps you excited and
engaged and the chorus is soon upon you. The half
time chorus really has you head banging and closing
your eyes to envisage these guys on a stage in
front of you. I really hope that they do add some
male backing vocals live as all of the recorded
backing is done by Christina.
The guitar line from the introduction is quickly
reintroduced and i am grinning from ear to ear
and loving this track. This guitar line and verse
could have easily been a lost track from Funeral
For A Friend's 'Casually Dressed & Deep in
Conversation'. With such a recipe for success
I am glad the band chose to stick to a more conventional
song structure following the first chorus with
another similar verse and chorus. As the drums
double the pace, the chorus is repeated leading
into a slow and etherial part of the song. As
the vocals enter we are introduced to the screaming
tones of singer Dan Lawrence (Kenai, All Forgotten).
The pure power and awesome tone of Dan's voice
matches this track perfectly and when Christina
is reintroduced they work very well together,
taking in turns to sing phrases. I wish at some
point they would have harmonised, but regardless
i am left open jawed at the power the band create,
breaking any limitations of the recording with
great song writing and performance.
'Anchors' gives us a rest from the intenseness
of the previous tracks in allows us to relax with
two acoustic guitars. Synth strings fill out a
blissful introduction and i can already feel this
song is going to be pulling at my heartstrings.
I am a bit taken back as the vocals enter as the
high mix level seems quite intrusive and the vocal
sounds overly harsh. The vocal rhythm throws you
off the initial beat that is set by the acoustic
guitars, but in a good way catching you slightly
off guard. The slower pace of the track is a welcome
change and a great addition to the album. The
vocals sound more heartfelt and i find myself
melting away into the track rather than analysing
every detail. The inclusion of a glockenspiel
is a nice touch adding interest in the high end
whilst distracting from the slightly ridged guitar
strumming as the track starts to build.
Finally we hear the long awaited male backing
that i was hoping would come, on this track provided
by Jarred Lee. Its starts off very low in the
mix, but as the full band kick in for the dramatic
close the song, the song becomes more of a duet,
with the voices matched closely. More attention
to detail needed to be paid by the band at this
point as the vocals aren't perfectly in time,
an error caused by tracking the vocalists at separate
times which stops them being able to feed off
each other. More production mistakes continue
with the reintroduction of the acoustic seeming
uncompressed and jumping out of the mix and becoming
too intrusive for me to keep focused on what is
a beautifully written track.
The final track, 'A Glass Case of Emotion' makes
me cringe at the cliche name before the track
has even began. This is all forgotten in an instant
as the track starts hitting me with a simple yet
very effective heavy sound similar to that of
recent 'Paramore' tracks. Its not a comparison
in vocals in any way, as they haven't even started,
and its certainly not an insult either, as i am
looking forward to this track. The verse kicks
in and we are shows another new sound from Search
Alaska. The is the most commercial sounding track
yet, and it is good. The drive and vocals resemble
'Kids In Glass Houses' closely but without sounding
like a rip off in any way.
A double verse doesn't feel stretched out and
the chorus is strong. The song evolves into many
different sections that flow well between each
other. The low mix of the gang vocals work well
in this track, and it feels like a closing track.
I hate the fact that this truly is a great track,
and no one pointed out of the band that the acoustic
guitar strumming in the closing is out of time.
Its a small detail but it takes away from the
shine of a great track.
Overall its an eclectic mix of tracks, demonstrating
that this band truly has a lot of potential. Although
the EP bounces around between styles, it gives
a great insight into what the band has to offer
in many different genres and has everything it
needs to in order to give the band a good chance
of gaining attention from a potential label. There
are errors in the recording, in the playing and
the song writing needs some attention in places
too, to make sure everything is to a consistently
high standard, but overall i would be so proud
if this was my first EP. This band have a lot
to offer, the only thing they have forgotten,
is the power of getting out and gigging before
entering the studio. I think if these songs had
been gigged for a tour, they would have been more
refined in places and the band would start to
bond more as a group, being able to get closer
to the ultra tight sound of bands like Decade.
It will just take them a bit of time but i certain
they will get there. I cannot wait to see these
guys like and i will be on the mailing list for
any news about their next recorded release. Until
then, this is an EP that will definitely be in
my current playlist.
3/5
Review by Neil Oliver |
