Dropping Daylight - Brace Yourself
Rating
RIYL
ThriceBen Folds
Coldplay
Offspring
Label
Octone RecordsTracklist
1. Tell Me2. Brace Yourself
3. Waiting Through the Afternoon
4. Apologies
5. Take a Photograph
6. Lucy
7. Soliloquy
8. War Song
9. Blame Me
10. Answering Our Prayers
11. Til You Feel Something
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From the opening feedback of Brace Yourself's first track, “Tell Me”, to the last fist pumping beats of the album’s closer, “Til You Feel Something”, Dropping Daylight manage to turn a melting pot of sounds and influences into a coherent and rather solid package. My first listen of the album had me citing clear similarities to Ben Folds’ crooning (which the band openly admits to be an influence), Tori Amos’ piano, Dexter Holland of Offspring’s scream, and some of the crunch guitar riffs from any nu-metal band du jour. To actually pin point another band that captures their entire sound similarly is another story. The closest I could come to a comparison would be Thrice’s most recent release, Vheissu. The album features gorgeous piano work that pushes this album a strong step above your average pop/rock record. Most of the album remains pretty up-tempo, but manages to avoid sounding glossy or sugar-coated. The band’s energy shines through the album’s high points, leading me to believe they probably put on one stellar live show too.
The vocals on the album are definitely solid. The singing parts are handled beautifully while the screams don’t give way to the typical guttural, indiscernible yell usually present in today’s emo/screamo bands. I found they tend to favor melodic howls that fall somewhere between those of Offspring and Mute Math. The aforementioned accompanying piano is what gives each track its character and life. Some of songs feature a sound that is reminiscent of early Tori Amos (think Cornflake Girl era), Muse, or possibly The Dresden Dolls. The guitar parts all work well in providing a dark, heavy landscape for the piano to dance over while keeping things on their quickened pace.
The first few tracks find the band off to a strong start with the third song, “Waiting Through The Afternoon”, having a little more of a pop tinge than the previous couple. “Apologies” furthers their delving into the mainstream pop sound before going back to the crunch of “Take A Photograph”. “Lucy” and “Soliloquy” are both good songs with the latter sounding a bit too much like some of the previous songs on the album. “War Song” suffers from the same problem. It is a good song, it just doesn’t have enough of an identity of its own when played alongside the other songs on the album. “Blame Me” sees a momentary return to the heavier riffs. “Answering Our Prayers” finds the band taking a breather before the last hurrah, and it turns out to be quite a beautiful song with very haunting lyrics. “Til You Feel Something” rounds out the album and ties for my favorite on the album with its full-force energy, call-response vocals, and that killer ending.
If I were to make a complaint on this album, it would be the fact that there are a few songs that are too similar in tone and design. There’s not really a bad song on the album, but there are a few that end up being to hard to distinguish in my head even after a few listens. I would, however, definitely recommend any rock fan to give this band a fair try since this effort will surely hold something for most listeners to attach to.
--Jeremy Deal
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