Gabe Gross
03/29/06, 11:01 AM
The Fold – This Too Shall Pass
Tooth & Nail Records
Release Date: February 21, 2006
For what seemed at first to be a flaccid dysfunction of modern rock, The Fold quickly scraped my misconception that pop-rock can make it’s mark in time, after all, other bands of their genre have been succesful. With their debut album, the Midwest-- Daniel Castady (vocals/guitar), Aaron Green (guitar), Keith Mochel (bass) and Mark Rhoades (drums)--chose to take their Chicago sound to Tooth & Nail Records to release This Too Shall Pass. Also, you have a lot to prove when you’re from Chicago--a city that knows what they love and knows even better what they hate. In the case of The Fold, these guys don’t have too much to worry about; they’ve created a delightful pop-rock preview of what will come on following releases.
If “Gravity” isn’t an opening track with the ability to raise your pulse, count yourself dead. The song jumps through hoops of singer and somersaults in and out of tempos, while finishing proper with a strong climax. But don’t rely on The Fold to keep you rocking out the entire album. The ebb and flow of most tracks are not reliant a single instrument or vocal arrangement and the band can turn on a dime when it comes to their chord progression ("With You, I Sink"). The most impressive part of this album is the consistency (even on softer tracks) of guitars without losing the singularity and importance of each instrument. So much of the time, a band relies on the frontman or lead guitarist to carry an album ("New City", "I Bleieve In You"). Not in this case. "Rid of Me" begins with a cutting guitar lick in which vocalist Daniel Castady reminds me of Jim Adkins' Bleed American voice. Other notable tracks include, “The Title Track”, “Stay” and “Surrounded”.
Cleanliness and clarity are essential building blocks for satisfying pop-rock. The Fold compliment and exhibit these musical personalities into This Too Shall Pass. With production by Steven Haigler (whose worked with Brand New and Terminal), he creates an arena sound evenly throughout the entire album. Although the vocals could have been brought down a notch, the music isn’t engulfed by them. The lyrics are border more on observational profundity than insightful ingenuity, though fans will appreciate the application to fighting through the tough times and remembering not to give up. (Personal note: "Evermore" is definitely the track that speaks to me the loudest, lyrically and instrumentally.)
With undertones of healing and restoration, This Too Shall Pass remedies the compliant and rather boring rock albums; quenching the thirst for mature fans that are graduating from the modern pop-punk sound.
I will destroy this place
What is, what was, what will be?
Tooth & Nail Records
Release Date: February 21, 2006
For what seemed at first to be a flaccid dysfunction of modern rock, The Fold quickly scraped my misconception that pop-rock can make it’s mark in time, after all, other bands of their genre have been succesful. With their debut album, the Midwest-- Daniel Castady (vocals/guitar), Aaron Green (guitar), Keith Mochel (bass) and Mark Rhoades (drums)--chose to take their Chicago sound to Tooth & Nail Records to release This Too Shall Pass. Also, you have a lot to prove when you’re from Chicago--a city that knows what they love and knows even better what they hate. In the case of The Fold, these guys don’t have too much to worry about; they’ve created a delightful pop-rock preview of what will come on following releases.
If “Gravity” isn’t an opening track with the ability to raise your pulse, count yourself dead. The song jumps through hoops of singer and somersaults in and out of tempos, while finishing proper with a strong climax. But don’t rely on The Fold to keep you rocking out the entire album. The ebb and flow of most tracks are not reliant a single instrument or vocal arrangement and the band can turn on a dime when it comes to their chord progression ("With You, I Sink"). The most impressive part of this album is the consistency (even on softer tracks) of guitars without losing the singularity and importance of each instrument. So much of the time, a band relies on the frontman or lead guitarist to carry an album ("New City", "I Bleieve In You"). Not in this case. "Rid of Me" begins with a cutting guitar lick in which vocalist Daniel Castady reminds me of Jim Adkins' Bleed American voice. Other notable tracks include, “The Title Track”, “Stay” and “Surrounded”.
Cleanliness and clarity are essential building blocks for satisfying pop-rock. The Fold compliment and exhibit these musical personalities into This Too Shall Pass. With production by Steven Haigler (whose worked with Brand New and Terminal), he creates an arena sound evenly throughout the entire album. Although the vocals could have been brought down a notch, the music isn’t engulfed by them. The lyrics are border more on observational profundity than insightful ingenuity, though fans will appreciate the application to fighting through the tough times and remembering not to give up. (Personal note: "Evermore" is definitely the track that speaks to me the loudest, lyrically and instrumentally.)
With undertones of healing and restoration, This Too Shall Pass remedies the compliant and rather boring rock albums; quenching the thirst for mature fans that are graduating from the modern pop-punk sound.
I will destroy this place
What is, what was, what will be?