Weatherbox: American Art
Dog House Records
2007
9.5 out of 10

Weatherbox’s debut release on Doghouse records called "American Art" is just that, art, and good art for that matter. The CD starts with a sort of genre tease. Boys Night Out style gang choruses rock the intro of “Atoms Smash,” so the listener automatically gives a

Comfortable For You - My
nod, as if to tell their iPod good work, but then a new voice to the indie music scene blooms as if out of a cocoon broken by indie drawl and guitar rock. We welcome this new and interesting voice and in doing so the listener becomes even more enthralled by the lyrics. With Say Anything honesty and vocals chock full of Conor Oberst warbles, each lyric seems to be sung too slow making the listener wait in an...ticitpation for each honestly smart tidbit of musings from these San Diego natives.

I mean I came to this CD knowing that I saw these guys listed for one show on SanDiegoPunk.com and then I heard the next week they were signed to Doghouse. With massive amounts of speculation that these guys would be put through the same song writing hoops and hurdles as Say Anything, I really thought that they would just end up as a carbon copy of the original, and to some extent they are. Is that a bad thing? Not at all. You can't find fault in a band who writes interesting songs with honest and catchy lyrics, you just can't. Some highlights on this album for me are the guitar lick to open "Moments Before The Smashing of Future Ryan" and the song "The Drugs," which should, hands down, be the new San Diego beach bonfire party official sing along song. Do yourself a favor and go grab this CD before these guys are snatched up from Doghouse by some alphabetical record label.        

- Matt Fradkin

Read a follow-up interview with Weatherbox!

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