At Dusk
"The Summer of Promises Kept" CD
Popping
Open Music
Genres: indie rock, indie pop
email the band
Jan 19 - 25 2004 |
The
Summer of Promises Kept is such an average indie rock album it
can't be believed. It's got the token guitar, the vocals, the bass,
and the drums - as well as contributions from cello, glockenspiel,
keyboard, and all the rest. It's got the 'hard' songs and the
'soft' songs. It's got the moments of rambunctious energy and
the moments of self-concerned introspection. It's almost cute
how familiar At Dusk sounds, and depending on your frame of
reference, it could be a good thing or a bad thing.
The major problem with this album, other than its lack of
creativity or innovation, is its lack of melody. Though the
songs aren't atonal or discordant or anything, they don't catch the
listener either - their hooks rarely work and even the choruses don't
offer any real infectiousness. A song like "What May Have
Been The Sun" is a good example; it sounds like it could
be catchy, but it isn't. It seems afraid to stray from a limited
range of notes. "Sports," similarly, goes for an
almost emo-flavoured approach, but is again held back by the lack of
catchy hooks; though the glockenspiel adds a touch of sensitivity, it
still leaves the listener wanting something more... filling.
I don't know what to say. The Summer of Promises Kept
should be much catchier than it is. At Dusk needs to get
much more comfortable with their songwriting, as at this point it just
sounds as if they're trying to remain as non-descript as possible.
74%
Matt Shimmer
[Vitals: 14 tracks, distributed by the
band, released 2003] |
