The Early November - Acoustic
Rating
RIYL
Dashboard ConfessionalYellowcard
Jimmy Eat World
Tracklist
1. Ever So Sweet2. I Want to Hear You Sad
3. All We Ever Needed
4. Sunday Drive
5. Come Back
6. Make it Happen
7. Every Night's Another Story
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Acoustic guitars are beautiful aren’t they? What’s that you say? NO?? Well, stop reading, as this “emolicious” slice of purest acoustica is probably not for you. When The Early November released their debut full length, The Rooms Too Cold, one of the major disparagements levelled at it by critics (aside from occupying the already intensely overcrowded post hardcore niche) was the downright puzzling presence of a number of acoustic tracks on what was an otherwise well thought out and flowing release.
I tend to agree that the random scattering of various acoustic musings throughout a boisterous, loud rock record seems to me to be ridiculous. While these songs are often lovely, they are so far removed from the normal style of the bands in this genre, they tend to incite a momentum-sapping, brain-numbing confusion, rather than providing the gratifying respite they were initially intended for. They seldom contribute to the overall “feel” of an album. So what’s the natural solution to this problem? Well boys and girls, the simple answer is to keep the acoustic tracks separate from their electric brethren and voila! We now have two separate entities that both maintain a consistent feel, rather than a jumble of songs that is seemingly stilted and unrelated.
Drive-Thru are a label that spark an enormous amount of cynicism as they seem to have a knack for signing ineffectual, generic emo bands (nods towards Victory, grrrrrrr!) that have nothing innovative to contribute to the genre. A glance at the leaflet supplied with this CD would be enough to make anyone’s heart drop, the CD was recorded in October 2002 as a collection of acoustically arranged, preliminary versions of the songs for the electric EP For All Of This (two of which didn’t make it onto the final product). Hmmm, do we detect the putrid scent of a cash in?? Well the answer is both yes and no. While this is probably just an exercise in acquiring a few more dollars between releases, the truth of the matter is that this CD is reasonably enjoyable.
It’s not completely fair to assess this EP in terms of the entire band, as all songs here were written and performed by the band’s lead singer, Ace Enders. Although there are minor appearances by his bandmates (Jeff Kummer – percussion & backing vocals Sergio Anello – backing vocals) this is all about Ace. So for this EP to be conspicuous enough to distinguish itself from the pack, Mr. Enders’ performance must be convincing.
Ace’s voice sounds admirable, it resonates beautifully, and at times the listener can really feel the angst that he is infusing into a song. A.E. makes confident transitions from a crass moan, to a silkily lulled whisper and it is his skilful vocals that are truly the highlight of this disc. Obviously, the song structures and lyrics are of paramount importance on an acoustic CD. These “stripped down” songs allow a much sterner examination of “the innards”, so it’s salient that they are well composed.
The lyrical content of this album is far from exquisite. Though it is refreshing to not hear typical emo clichés of slit writs and blood, which, let’s face it, are unnervingly tired. That said, Enders does seem to have been infected with a chronic case of broken heartedness throughout. So it seems he is merely substituting one set of worn clichés for another, which tars the songs with a much unwanted brush.
Unsurprisingly, there is no particularly astounding musicianship on this record. All of the songs are accomplished by the most basic (though not unattractive) of strums and plucks, augmented only by the appearance of a tambourine and sparingly used backing vocals. This simple structure is not necessarily a bad thing though as the potential sing-a-long factor of a track like opener “Ever so Sweet” is enormous. It’s probably safe to say you will find yourself singing along with Enders at some point. A major criticism that should be levelled at this EP is that, it can all get a little monotonous, the lyrical content is unimaginative and some songs run into each other without distinguishing themselves (not a good thing). It’s all too easy to find yourself wondering whether you are still listening to the same track, which is a shame.
All in all, a reasonable effort which is plagued by some unfortunate faults but it is saved (to an extent) by Enders’ fine voice, which compliments the acoustic arrangements beautifully. The end result is a flawed but very listenable album that could have been so much more with more attentive song writing, in both lyrical and musical departments.
--Rhys Duggan
Comments
chicago
this bar smells like a old lady farted piss
Green Brook, NJ
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