Nothing solid about this album
Band: Lives of Many
Until We Lay This to Rest
When I lived in Mississauga, I had the somewhat questionable privilege of belonging to Supernova.ca, an organization that allowed upstart high school bands to play "Battle of the Bands" type shows, regardless of actual talent. In exchange for a prime set time, we had to flog as many tickets as we could to our friends and family. The shows were rough enough that it was virtually impossible to get anyone to show up to more than one of them.
What I did learn from this exercise was that there are two halves to success in the music industry- solid music and the drive to market your band tirelessly. The fact that this Winnipeg based pop-punk band have released an LP, even on indie label Primer Records, will drive this point home for any listener. There is nothing "solid" about Until We Lay This to Rest.
Actually, I take that back. In the album's better moments, Kurt, Nick (guitars), Jay (drums), and Graeme (bass) do a passable impression of post-hardcore pioneers Alexisonfire, and when they do change it up for the slower "1.25", some interesting ideas shine through. Anything the band gets going, however, is shot to pieces as soon as singer Mike opens his mouth. His style is not quite Jim Adkins (Jimmy Eat World), it's not quite Mike Ness (Social Distortion), but it's all just terrible.
In most tracks, the vocals are badly off-key, particularly the cringe-worthy "Sell Out Tonight, if the Money's Right." It's surprising, considering the polish of the guitar production.
We all can't be Frank Sinatra, but there's nothing redeeming about the lyrics either. This is mostly a breakup album, as Mike will keep reminding you with gems like, "I gave you the brightness and it burned your eyes/maybe you should know who you are next time."
Producer Brandon Friesen must have convinced Lives of Many to turn on the pitch corrector for the single, "It's Okay You're Leaving, I Cheated (Part I)", because I don't instantly wish I was deaf instead of listening to this CD, but that might just be the heavy chorus of backing vocals running parallel. If you enjoy pop punk like Fall Out Boy this track might be worth checking out. You can catch the music video at http://www.livesofmany.com.
Lives of Many is an upstart indie band, just like everyone back in Mississauga playing the Supernova shows, so it's unreasonable to expect a perfect product, but this band won't go anywhere until Mike catches up with the talent of the rest of the group.
Until We Lay This to Rest
When I lived in Mississauga, I had the somewhat questionable privilege of belonging to Supernova.ca, an organization that allowed upstart high school bands to play "Battle of the Bands" type shows, regardless of actual talent. In exchange for a prime set time, we had to flog as many tickets as we could to our friends and family. The shows were rough enough that it was virtually impossible to get anyone to show up to more than one of them.
What I did learn from this exercise was that there are two halves to success in the music industry- solid music and the drive to market your band tirelessly. The fact that this Winnipeg based pop-punk band have released an LP, even on indie label Primer Records, will drive this point home for any listener. There is nothing "solid" about Until We Lay This to Rest.
Actually, I take that back. In the album's better moments, Kurt, Nick (guitars), Jay (drums), and Graeme (bass) do a passable impression of post-hardcore pioneers Alexisonfire, and when they do change it up for the slower "1.25", some interesting ideas shine through. Anything the band gets going, however, is shot to pieces as soon as singer Mike opens his mouth. His style is not quite Jim Adkins (Jimmy Eat World), it's not quite Mike Ness (Social Distortion), but it's all just terrible.
In most tracks, the vocals are badly off-key, particularly the cringe-worthy "Sell Out Tonight, if the Money's Right." It's surprising, considering the polish of the guitar production.
We all can't be Frank Sinatra, but there's nothing redeeming about the lyrics either. This is mostly a breakup album, as Mike will keep reminding you with gems like, "I gave you the brightness and it burned your eyes/maybe you should know who you are next time."
Producer Brandon Friesen must have convinced Lives of Many to turn on the pitch corrector for the single, "It's Okay You're Leaving, I Cheated (Part I)", because I don't instantly wish I was deaf instead of listening to this CD, but that might just be the heavy chorus of backing vocals running parallel. If you enjoy pop punk like Fall Out Boy this track might be worth checking out. You can catch the music video at http://www.livesofmany.com.
Lives of Many is an upstart indie band, just like everyone back in Mississauga playing the Supernova shows, so it's unreasonable to expect a perfect product, but this band won't go anywhere until Mike catches up with the talent of the rest of the group.
