What made Sparks the Rescue's Fearless Records debut full-length Eyes to the Sun so successful was its simplicity. It wasn't so much that the songs had simple structures, lyrics, or rhyme patterns, but there was an overall sense that the album came very easy to the band. It was the exact style of music they wanted to play, and they did it very, very well (as evidenced by "We Love Like Vampires" and "My Heart Radio"). There was an energy to the songs that translated well to the band's now dangerous live performances (seriously), and the band emerged alongside labelmates Mayday Parade and Every Avenue as the next set of pop-rock bands to play to a few more thousand people than they were used to. When it came time to create a follow-up album, however, the band's offering (in the form of Worst Thing I've been Cursed With) failed to build on the momentum, the band found themselves without a label. Pressing onward, the band launched a KickStarter in hopes to self-fund what became the EP that is the subject of this very review. After a successful campaign, was the band able to set aside their previous issues and continue to move forward?
After the EP's intro builds into lead single "Disaster," two things become very apparent: one, that Sparks the Rescue recaptured the energy of Eyes to the Sun in a big way, and two, they still have the chance to be the next great pop-rock band. The band's soaring guitar tandem of Toby McAllister and Mike Naran have always been a staple on their best songs, but Sparks the Rescue shows the duo finding a way to tighten their strings even more, and sound even bigger than they ever have. "Disaster" is frontman Alex Roy's exorcism of an old fling, and his anger shows as the band reaches back to the screams that were once present on the band's earlier (and pre-Fearless) EPs. Up next is "Water Your Heart (Safe, Sound, and Buried)", in which Roy plays a teacher attempting to show a girl how to guard her heart, as McAllister tells her to keep it "Safe, sound and buried." The track is driven along by the band's new bassist David Pait, who provides the perfect pace for the track. Speaking of additions, the band's new drummer Dylan Taylor proves to be the perfect selection behind the kit, as he adds his own talent and creativity to Naran's and McAllister's guitars seamlessly.
Roy explores a relationship facing trust issues in "Last Chance for Romance," a much more light-hearted track than the two songs that come before it, though Roy stays just as melancholy. Roy's delivery of the chorus, most importantly on the line "We're both afraid to love," is one of the best he's delivered for the band, while Naran and McAllister power the verses. "Burn All My Clothes" explodes from the beginning, and competes with "Disaster" for the fastest song on the EP, and Roy returns to the jilted lover role he's come to play so well. "Dream. Catch. Her." is the biggest sonic endeavor for the band, with an almost-ambient opening sequence, making way for Roy's croon before the chorus takes off beautifully. EP-closer "Phoenix" begins acoustically before it builds into a sweeping ending, reminiscent of Eyes to the Sun's "Hello Mexico," and though the song doesn't feel like the proper ending to the EP, it's yet another assertion that Sparks the Rescue are as talented and creative as they've ever been.
The Bottom Line: Though Worst Thing I've Been Cursed With had its missteps, Sparks the Rescue's self-titled EP is a sterling reminder that there are very few (if any) pop-rock bands who are as talented as they are, and if they keep making songs like these, there's no telling how far they can go.
Recommended if you Rock: Sparks the Rescue's Eyes to the Sun, Hit the Lights's Invicta, Mayday Parade
Get behind it! 'Like' Sparks the Rescue on Facebook and/or Follow them on Twitter!
No comments:
Post a Comment