|
I’m not going to bother putting any biographical
information into my review of Aberdeen City’s
new album The Freezing Atlantic. I’m
making this decision because I think I can safely
say that the bio they sent me is a pack of lies.
I don’t have a problem with that; actually
I think it shows moxie. The bios sent out as part
of a press kit are so often written with such flowery
words of praise, that the band couldn’t live
up to it if Jesus himself were on drums. A little
tongue-in-cheek humor is always appreciated. It
allowed me to approach The Freezing Atlantic
with curious anticipation.
The first few strains of "Another Seven
Years" are discordant and slightly off putting.
However, these first few seconds are not indicative
of the beauty found in the rest of the album.
The second song, "Pretty Pet", evolves
from Brad Parker’s (vocal, bass) poignant
voice over simple guitar chords into harmonies
layered with violins. The entire album seems to
build on each song in much the same way.
Aberdeen City’s love of
complex pop music is prevalent throughout The
Freezing Atlantic. "God is Going to
Get Sick of Me" is reminiscent of Radiohead
in both sound and vocal styling. Other comparisons
can be made to U2, with their use of guitar and
structure.
The band splendidly combines J. Ryan Heller’s
and Christopher McGlaughlin’s spacey guitars
with Rob McCaffery’s forceful drumming.
It keeps the songs from becoming overly mournful,
shoegazer music.
The Freezing Atlantic turns out to be
good enough to justify the casual bravado of their
bio. If you are interested you can read it for
yourself online at
www.aberdeenmusic.com. The band doesn’t
try to overreach, but focuses on crafting solid
pop music.
-Ian Nelson, November 18, 2005
See More Reviews at our
Music Review Archive
|
