Steve Henderson
07/28/06, 07:36 AM
The Terms - Small Town Computer Crash
Release Date: April 25, 2006
Record Label: Maple Jam Records
Rating: [6.5/10]
There is very little that is "small-time" about The Terms on their debut full-length. They boast that sound that is mid-'90s radio-ready (think Crash Test Dummies vocals over Rubyhorse instrumentation) and as easily accessible as footage of Paris Hilton's bedroom escapades. Likewise they have more than enough deep-rooted confidence to match - the kind that comes to a band only after they have played their songs for long enough in their own little way, and someone finally takes note. However, their IPO, Small Town Computer Crash, has a teeny-tiny little problem - only about five of the songs on their LP are really any good. Interestingly enough, the good tunes are really good - borderline great, dare I say it. But the bad ones are so awful and so painfully eclipse the going positivity that it quickly becomes tough, almost painful to think about endorsing this record as a whole. "Big City Concrete Wildflower," "Gulf of Tonkin," "Outlier," "Ugly," and "Heartstorm Rescue" are the types of tracks that made me ready to proclaim The Terms as my new favorite best-kept-secret, but abortive efforts like the atrociously white trashy "Welcome to the Now (Evo Devo)" make me bite my tongue in more than due time. Looking for a bad/great bi-polar record or a few tracks to snatch up on iTunes? If so, check (half of) this out. Otherwise, you'd do well to seek out a more complete work.
Crash Test Dummies, Matchbox Twenty, Goo Goo Dolls, Rubyhorse
Release Date: April 25, 2006
Record Label: Maple Jam Records
Rating: [6.5/10]
There is very little that is "small-time" about The Terms on their debut full-length. They boast that sound that is mid-'90s radio-ready (think Crash Test Dummies vocals over Rubyhorse instrumentation) and as easily accessible as footage of Paris Hilton's bedroom escapades. Likewise they have more than enough deep-rooted confidence to match - the kind that comes to a band only after they have played their songs for long enough in their own little way, and someone finally takes note. However, their IPO, Small Town Computer Crash, has a teeny-tiny little problem - only about five of the songs on their LP are really any good. Interestingly enough, the good tunes are really good - borderline great, dare I say it. But the bad ones are so awful and so painfully eclipse the going positivity that it quickly becomes tough, almost painful to think about endorsing this record as a whole. "Big City Concrete Wildflower," "Gulf of Tonkin," "Outlier," "Ugly," and "Heartstorm Rescue" are the types of tracks that made me ready to proclaim The Terms as my new favorite best-kept-secret, but abortive efforts like the atrociously white trashy "Welcome to the Now (Evo Devo)" make me bite my tongue in more than due time. Looking for a bad/great bi-polar record or a few tracks to snatch up on iTunes? If so, check (half of) this out. Otherwise, you'd do well to seek out a more complete work.
Crash Test Dummies, Matchbox Twenty, Goo Goo Dolls, Rubyhorse