The Midway State
"Met a Man on Top of the
Hill" CDEP
Interscope
Genre: rock, alternative rock
June 2008 |
How many impassioned alt rock bands can mainstream
audiences keep track of? This brain buster crossed my mind several
times throughout The Midway State's Met a Man on Top of the
Hill EP. If this isn't generic, I don't know what is. Case in
point: "Change For
You" would sound right at home accompanying the latest teen
thriller's end credits; it subsequently might be this disc's best shot
at a hit single. Nobody can
discredit The Midway State's understanding of a good pop hook,
yet their moping, overly-sensitive sound isn't doing the band any
favours in terms of originality ("Nobody Understands" is your worst
culprit, gentlemen). "A Million Fireflies," the EP's "edgy" song (must
have been the band "bad boy" who wrote this one), is also this
disc's most
interesting nugget thanks to some well-placed falsetto vocals and
a strong breakthrough chorus. Still, I'm pretty sure Dashboard Confessional
has been doing this for years.
I'll concede that I'm more impressed with the
songwriting polish of The Midway State than often is the case
with the innumerable radio-ready acts trickling out of major label
subsidiaries these days. Still, sticking to this template could leave
them little credibility if they don't catch a break in the near
future.
70%
Fun Fact: These guys
played this year's Toronto's New Year's Eve party.
Matt Shimmer
[Vitals: 4 tracks, distributed by
the
label,
released 2007] |
