RomeoAGoGo
03/23/07, 12:26 AM
Daphne Loves Derby - Good Night, Witness Light
Release Date: 3/27/2007
Record Label: Outlook Records
With bands such as Copeland, Mae, and Jack’s Mannequin paving the way, there seems to be a bright (dare I say, mainstream?) future for piano heavy pop rock. However it’s all too easy for bands in this vein to fall into a very tricky trap of putting the listener to sleep instead of keeping their attention. Daphne Loves Derby is a perfect example of how the line between delicacy and lethargy has worn thin.
For a while Daphne held the number one spot on Purevolume’s Unsigned Artist Rankings till they were signed to Baltimore Ravens star Trevor Pryce’s Outlook Records. Their popularity on purevolume helped assure them a solid fan-base with the release of 2005’s ‘On The Strength of All Convinced’. The album was met with mixed reviews and an overall mediocre response with critics citing the bands lack of energy and derivative influences.
‘On Good Night Witness Light’, the band manages to once again bore the listener with an uninspired, yet solid collection of 13 tracks. The smooth vocal harmonies compliment the slow-tempo songs quite nicely at times, but the majority of the album blends together to form a flat and lazy train-wreck.
The :50 second intermission ‘Marching Band Intro’ features, yes you guessed it, a full marching band. While this peculiar item does stand out, it also comes off as a feeble attempt to be flexible and intriguing. The drums eventually patter out and it almost seems as if the band is going to change gears a bit with a Casket Lottery-esque opening bridge. Unfortunately they revert to their overused formula and the song is completely marginalized.
However there is some potential here. ‘To Struggle With Light Colors’ has a unique combination of horns and interesting lyrical content that reeks of fellow Washingtonians, This Providence. ‘Cue The Sun!’ even utilizes some acoustic guitar plucking and tambourine jangling halfway through.
Despite the creative usage towards the end, it seems Daphne Loves Derby have fallen short once again. They had the chance to standout, but ultimately failed due to lack of innovation. Hopefully for their next album they can put forth some more effort to catapult themselves into one of the more listenable bands in their increasingly popular genre.
Release Date: 3/27/2007
Record Label: Outlook Records
With bands such as Copeland, Mae, and Jack’s Mannequin paving the way, there seems to be a bright (dare I say, mainstream?) future for piano heavy pop rock. However it’s all too easy for bands in this vein to fall into a very tricky trap of putting the listener to sleep instead of keeping their attention. Daphne Loves Derby is a perfect example of how the line between delicacy and lethargy has worn thin.
For a while Daphne held the number one spot on Purevolume’s Unsigned Artist Rankings till they were signed to Baltimore Ravens star Trevor Pryce’s Outlook Records. Their popularity on purevolume helped assure them a solid fan-base with the release of 2005’s ‘On The Strength of All Convinced’. The album was met with mixed reviews and an overall mediocre response with critics citing the bands lack of energy and derivative influences.
‘On Good Night Witness Light’, the band manages to once again bore the listener with an uninspired, yet solid collection of 13 tracks. The smooth vocal harmonies compliment the slow-tempo songs quite nicely at times, but the majority of the album blends together to form a flat and lazy train-wreck.
The :50 second intermission ‘Marching Band Intro’ features, yes you guessed it, a full marching band. While this peculiar item does stand out, it also comes off as a feeble attempt to be flexible and intriguing. The drums eventually patter out and it almost seems as if the band is going to change gears a bit with a Casket Lottery-esque opening bridge. Unfortunately they revert to their overused formula and the song is completely marginalized.
However there is some potential here. ‘To Struggle With Light Colors’ has a unique combination of horns and interesting lyrical content that reeks of fellow Washingtonians, This Providence. ‘Cue The Sun!’ even utilizes some acoustic guitar plucking and tambourine jangling halfway through.
Despite the creative usage towards the end, it seems Daphne Loves Derby have fallen short once again. They had the chance to standout, but ultimately failed due to lack of innovation. Hopefully for their next album they can put forth some more effort to catapult themselves into one of the more listenable bands in their increasingly popular genre.