In Reverent Fear: Stomacher
Anxiety Records
2006
7.5 out of 10
I have to say right off that this was a very difficult CD to review. Overall, it is put together very nicely from the simple cover art all the way down to the well recorded tracks. There are a couple of stand out songs worth mentioning starting with "Twin." This song is a very fluid, mid tempo tune that has a |
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Samiam feel to it (barring the vocals). I really enjoy the cadence in the chorus: “Slim and so asian…in a uniform…” It was catchy enough to get stuck in my head after just a listen or two. The instrumental bridge is quite powerful as well featuring some basic yet jagged guitar riffs that tonally sound like something that Counterfit would have recorded. “Castle St.” is another catchy song. The guitars do a well phrased repeating turn around during the verses, and while the tempo is slower, the vocals seem a little more busy which is a nice break to come across in the middle of this record. So what was it about this record that made it so difficult to review? The answer is “the vocals”. I really have no complaints about the instrumentation. In fact, that aspect is outstanding! The vocals were somewhat tiresome for me though. It’s not that Jarrod sings badly or anything. It is more of a style issue with me. As far as tone, I hear a ton of different comparisons that would include glimpses of Bono, The Alarm, The Muse, maybe Blindside. That didn’t bother me at all. I like all those groups, but from song to song, there is an overload of vocal sustains and stretches. It would be nice if he mixed it up a little more with some staccato moments and some different melodies. It almost seems like each songs begins vocally with the same melody. Additionally, he seems to abuse falsetto quite a bit. The combination of sustain and lots of falsetto results in a very dreary sound. Strangely, on 666777888 the vocals go to the opposite extreme with a Thrice-esque screamy set of verses that are seemingly out of place on this record all together. I really feel that if more of the middle ground was met, this would be one crusher of a CD!
- TD
Read a follow-up interview with In Reverent Fear!
