Scott Irvine
12/21/06, 12:28 PM
Forever in Effigy - From Sleep and Shadows
Released September 7th
Unsigned
Scotch tape. A&W restaurants. Wireless internet. It’s in the latter that average readers would naturally lower expectations towards. Well, yes, we all love adhesives that must be reapplied daily, fast-food chains that make KFC look like the middle class’s La Grenouille, and ISPs that see more down time than Pauly Shore, but there in lies the perspective listeners must feel when approached by Forever in Effigy. They’re the daytime talk-radio of post-hardcore. Oh From Sleep and Shadows is there alright, but one could just as easily settle on one of the many influences listed on the group’s MySpace. Though you can describe the band as “screamy”, you certainly can’t spell that without c-r-e-a-m-y. Whether you want to associate that with the way in which the album flows in a novel-like fashion or positive slang fans will be throwing around, describing “the sweet riffs, man”, expectations can and will be lowered.
Shoddy album artwork aside, getting into the space of what From Sleep and Shadows is can either see a fleeting pleasure or an immediate disapproval. Albums of all caliber see division, but Forever in Effigy are truly on the fence of what fans may consider worthy or feeble. Of course, the derivative wordplay heard in “Don’t Touch the Sides” gives haters something to support their base, “Box Lunch at the Y” slings its pop-punk charm right back at them; so much that critics themselves (who me?) may find themselves coming back for a second listen.
If FIE indeed request a second chance on their run of the mill release, they should just say so. That’d be a better lyrical substitute for verses such as, “And this is done now/She is done/But what is this touch/Crawling at the corners of her mind/Like tears of some unwanted friend.” Find that and more through the duration of “Smoke ‘Em If You Got Them”; a cum-stain on the bed-sheets of an otherwise conventional album. Too tough of an analogy? If it weren’t for the surprisingly well-groomed instrumentation, From Sleep and Shadows would be all Victory Records would need to hear to slip them an invitation to get lost in a roster of likeminded artists.
While I enjoyed less of this album as I would’ve liked, part of me still wants to recommend it to those of you who have much more of an open-mind. My musical preference hates to walk through puddles when it could just find a drier spot to move on, so to say. Others favor splashing in the murky waters, however. Be that as it may, Forever in Effigy should still take a rain check on producing another methodical emo release. If not, at least make it an instrumental; save us all a headache.
Released September 7th
Unsigned
Scotch tape. A&W restaurants. Wireless internet. It’s in the latter that average readers would naturally lower expectations towards. Well, yes, we all love adhesives that must be reapplied daily, fast-food chains that make KFC look like the middle class’s La Grenouille, and ISPs that see more down time than Pauly Shore, but there in lies the perspective listeners must feel when approached by Forever in Effigy. They’re the daytime talk-radio of post-hardcore. Oh From Sleep and Shadows is there alright, but one could just as easily settle on one of the many influences listed on the group’s MySpace. Though you can describe the band as “screamy”, you certainly can’t spell that without c-r-e-a-m-y. Whether you want to associate that with the way in which the album flows in a novel-like fashion or positive slang fans will be throwing around, describing “the sweet riffs, man”, expectations can and will be lowered.
Shoddy album artwork aside, getting into the space of what From Sleep and Shadows is can either see a fleeting pleasure or an immediate disapproval. Albums of all caliber see division, but Forever in Effigy are truly on the fence of what fans may consider worthy or feeble. Of course, the derivative wordplay heard in “Don’t Touch the Sides” gives haters something to support their base, “Box Lunch at the Y” slings its pop-punk charm right back at them; so much that critics themselves (who me?) may find themselves coming back for a second listen.
If FIE indeed request a second chance on their run of the mill release, they should just say so. That’d be a better lyrical substitute for verses such as, “And this is done now/She is done/But what is this touch/Crawling at the corners of her mind/Like tears of some unwanted friend.” Find that and more through the duration of “Smoke ‘Em If You Got Them”; a cum-stain on the bed-sheets of an otherwise conventional album. Too tough of an analogy? If it weren’t for the surprisingly well-groomed instrumentation, From Sleep and Shadows would be all Victory Records would need to hear to slip them an invitation to get lost in a roster of likeminded artists.
While I enjoyed less of this album as I would’ve liked, part of me still wants to recommend it to those of you who have much more of an open-mind. My musical preference hates to walk through puddles when it could just find a drier spot to move on, so to say. Others favor splashing in the murky waters, however. Be that as it may, Forever in Effigy should still take a rain check on producing another methodical emo release. If not, at least make it an instrumental; save us all a headache.