Reviewed by Paul S Ganney

The jangling driven guitars and the slightly clipped, slightly reticent vocal give the genre away from the off and you think you know exactly where this CD by the Tallahassee-based three-piece is going. It's solidly in indie territory. There's elements of Snow Patrol, of the Cult, of Anathema, of By The Tree (and others I've not listed). It's all very well done, but doesn't seem to break new ground. That said, the keyboard riff in "Disguise" is very good and "Forever" I can see lifting many a church service a notch or two in praise and worship. But then the CD starts to move and gain a character more of its own, "Paralyzed" being especially strong: it has the same sort of elements as the songs that precede it (chiming guitars, driving drums, etc) but it gains some space from somewhere (and not just in the pauses) and lifts the band out of "very similar to. . ." and into "very interesting. . .". From there on the attention is well and truly grabbed and deservedly so (the riff in "Wake Up", the synth work in "Won't Let Go" - they make you listen and it's worth it). The CD peters out a bit, but in the end this is a band that have taken their influences and built on them well to create a very good CD and a solid step forward.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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