To The Waves, To The Waves

This band has potential; trust me, a lot of potential. This record could signal a decision point, because they have two sounds going: a punk approach like that of At The Drive In, and a post-hardcore, early Drop Dead Gorgeous kind of vibe. You get both with this debut album, but when they mix, it sounds different — if they want to be a serious band, they need to find their own sound and stick with it.

I feel that this record is a cool one primarily for those who are already fans. I guess it won’t make or break any others — actually, I have no idea why they got signed, because to be honest, the lyrics aren’t that good, the 20-something singer sings two pitches above his natural range, and the sound is way overdrawn from too many places. Even their own local “4 star reviews” say that “something sounds familiar,” meaning that it’s a cool idea to mix the current sound of screaming pop over chessy vocals with the fairly recent punk sounds of the ’90s, but it feels like an experiment, almost an exploit, not really worth your attention. Please listen for yourself, though…off the Myspace.