|
|
|
The version of this disc that we received has a photo of the Horsehead Nebula and a sci-fi font for the cover, which, along with the band and album names, led me to expect an album of space rock, or prog rock, or spacey prog rock. But surprise! Escape Velocity are actually an earth-bound pop trio from suburban Lynchburg, Virginia. Hardworking bandleader Michael Chagnon is a deft guitarist, tackling styles ranging from Spanish-style acoustic to heavy, fuzzed-out Weezer-style riffing with arena-rock soloing. There are some nice vocal harmonies here, from the 70s lite-rock stylings of "Fall in Love Again" to the folky, Beach Boys sounds of "The End of the Real World." There's an old-timey kind of feel that works its way through a lot of the disc, which is funny because I'm not sure these guys are even out of high school. The highlight of the disc is a cover of Of Montreal's awesome "Sleeping in a Beetle Bug," which is actually a bit of a shame—the band's original material is good, but unfortunately it kind of pales in comparison. There's a lot of talent on display here, though, and these guys definitely have a lot of potential (if they don't split up when they all go to college or something--I'm just guessing about the age thing, though). The disc also includes 3 videos, which are corny but well-produced, including a fake "MTV Cribs" segment which almost caused me to lose my goodwill toward the band (not to mention my lunch)—seeing all that expensive equipment in the basement of the large upper-middle-class suburban house where Chagnon lives with his parents got my class-sensitive hackles up a bit until I learned that Chagnon bought all his gear himself. And I really didn't want to know that the computer this disc was recorded on has Jessica Simpson wallpaper on the screen. Oh well, really they're perfectly nice guys, and it could be much worse as far as suburban basement bands go: these guys could be worshipping Metallica instead of the Beatles, and covering Mudvayne instead of Of Montreal, so cheers for that. (mike.12.05)
rating
related links