Breathe Carolina - Hello Fascination
Rating
RIYL
Kill ParadiseMedic Droid
Metro Station
Release Date
08/18/2009
Label
FearlessTracklist
1. Hello Fascination2. I'm the Type of Person to Take It Personal
3. Take Me To Infinity
4. Dressed Up To Undress
5. I.D.G.A.F
6. Welcome to Savannah
7. I Have To Go Return Some Video Tapes
8. The Dressing Room
9. Tripped and Fell in Portland
10. Can I Take You Home?
11. My Obsession
12. Velvet
13. The Rescue
Users Rating |
Your RatingCreate an account or log in to rate this album |
Recent Ratings |
|
|
|
|
|
The recent fascination with electropop can partially be attributed to the tongue-in-cheek attitude of most acts. Cobra Starship loves to write songs about how people who don’t like them simply aren’t “in on the joke,” and to some extent that’s definitely true. Regardless, it implies an obvious understanding of how they’re viewed, which is probably more than one could say about a group like Breathe Carolina. Unless there’s an underlying complexity to their music that hints at it being a joke, then it’s safe to say that they view their work as a serious effort.
In a time where Myspace bands present their music to the world one song at a time, Breathe Carolina is continuing in the old fashion model of releasing actual CDs. For that they should be praised, but it may not be the best option for them. Their latest release, Hello Fascination, is a boring and tired affair with few satisfying moments. Listeners with a keener ear for the nuances of the genre may be able to soak up a few more drops of enjoyment, but there isn’t much here for the rest of us to appreciate.
Even though Breathe Carolina has only been around since 2007, it seems warranted to expect at least a little progression in their sound. Unfortunately, there is little evolution between Hello Fascination and their debut It’s Classy, Not Classic. They’re still using the same, tired song structures and still lacking any sense of individuality from the sea of other bands similar to them. Hardcore mixed with dancy beats sounds like an excellent idea in theory, but there have been very few examples of it actually panning out. Breathe Carolina may hit the nail on the head one day, but they have quite a bit of evolving to do before that.
The simplest way to derive enjoyment from Hello Fascination is to dissect the music and appreciate particular parts. Their beats, though not complex or layered, are generally enjoyable and upbeat. The truly graining part of their music is the inexperienced screamer randomly bellowing out of nowhere throughout the song. He kills any notion of cohesiveness in their music and overshadows quite a few potentially cool moments in their music. The lead singer’s voice is high-pitched and riddled with autotune to the point of being categorized as an acquired taste for most listeners.
There’s definitely a joke in the music of Breathe Carolina, but whether or not they’re in on it is up for debate. The core fans will almost definitely be pleased, but the chance of them expanding outside of that group is slim to none.
--Dant Rambo
Comments
Lehigh Valley, PA
WOW really Rick? You gave it TWO stars???? WTF? Who listens to this shit ? Dant, I love this statement " There’s definitely a joke in the music of Breathe Carolina, but whether or not they’re in on it is up for debate." I'm pretty sure they are not in on it...
Minnesota
There are actually a few songs I found pretty catchy. Odd, I know, but there you have it. Even the best of us occasionally have bad taste.
Find me EVERYWHERE:
Infinitely Inwards
I liked a few of them. Not nearly as bad as Brokencyde.
Ever Forthright - Ever Forthright
Fallujah - The Harvest Wombs
The New Law - The Fifty Year Storm
ERRA - Impulse
Aborted - Global Flatline
Steven Wilson - Grace for Drowning
Crippled Black Phoenix - (Mankind)The Crafty Ape
Los Angeles
I just don't get the appeal with this type of music.
I'm still shocked everyday that people like bands like this.
http://www.myspace.com/paulson
http://www.twitter.com/GetFreshUSA
http://www.GetFreshUSA.com
Minnesota
I wouldn't say that I like this band, or their genre really. There's just a few songs on here that I don't mind listening to when they come up on random. So if a band can put together at least a few songs I can dig, it's not a total loss, right? At least this is no Brokencyde or Dot Dot Curve or other shit like that.
Find me EVERYWHERE:
Fort Bragg, CA
I see your point, Rick. I suppose I'm just soured against the whole trend at this point. I can recognize a few moments where I *could* have enjoyed them, but it got ruined by certain elements. To each their own, though.
I see your point as well, I just happen to think that these genres have no business mixing. Plus there's so many rock bands with electronic elements that deserve coverage over this screamo-long island club stuff. I like to see credit given where it's deserved.
I suppose the other thing that makes me nuts about this is that kids think that rock bands using electronics is a new trend. Bands were doing this for a long time before it ever hit the Warped Tour circuit. This sucks because kids that dig Breathe Carolina think this shit is groundbreaking and fresh and it's just bastardizing the use of electronics. Similarly many detractors write off any band described as electronic tinged rock because they don't recognize that there is legitimacy within the genre and that Breathe Carolina just apes the worst of it. I suppose this is a whole different issue altogether though. Sorry for the rant.
http://www.myspace.com/paulson
http://www.twitter.com/GetFreshUSA
http://www.GetFreshUSA.com