crazytoledo
04/13/07, 10:19 AM
Endwell – Homeland Insecurity
Label: Victory Records
Release Date: October 31
Sometimes a band will come along with a style of music so overplayed and saturated that it just makes you want to go insane. This was the case when I first heard Endwell. After seeing that they recently signed to Victory Records, I stumbled across the band's myspace and listened to several generic scream/sing styled demos. My initial opinion was this was what it would sound like to take a hardcore band and throw in some pop punk styled singing around the choruses. While I initially wasn’t impressed by the band's demos, I still decided to check out their debut full length, “Homeland Insecurity.”
Needless to say, on the first spin through my opinion on the band hadn’t changed much at all. There was still the standard tough guy shouting and high pitched singing, there was still the typical distorted guitar riffs, and there was still the same generic breakdowns recycled throughout the album. However, after giving the album a few more chances to impress, it did just that. Endwell will never get any credit for reinventing the wheel, but at least the songs that comprise “Homeland Insecurity” provide a number of thrills during the ride.
Musically, Endwell can be labeled as predictable and unoriginal as, for the most part, you’ve heard the same riffs and song structures before. Also, the band overuses the breakdown, which is typically never that necessary in the first place. However, after listening to songs like “Four Letter Words” and “Single and Loving It,” you can detect that the band might actually be adept musicians, as their trace use of soloing shows that the band could be doing better things. Vocally, the high pitched singing is about as textbook as you could get, but it still manages to work throughout most of the album, even creating several choruses that are rather catchy. The band occasionally mixes it up with the use of gang vocals, which work perfectly on “Whine and Dine.” However, the band nearly disregards the few elements that help them stand out, replacing them with the components that will allow them to fit into the scene.
“Homeland Insecurity” is nothing but one immense inner conflict. Not once on the album does Endwell come off as knowing what they want to do, as their full length lacks the vision needed to make it truly worthy. Sometimes they decide to branch out towards their pop-punk influences, with catchy choruses and singing, while other times they fall back on their hardcore roots, trying to sound as brutal as they can possibly sound with the generic tough guy vocals and redundant breakdowns. The band does have its moments, it’s just that they don’t capitalize on it. When it comes down to it, this album can be fun to listen to, but there are better options out there, including label mates A Day to Remember, who delivered their take on the ‘pop mosh’ scene perfectly.
Label: Victory Records
Release Date: October 31
Sometimes a band will come along with a style of music so overplayed and saturated that it just makes you want to go insane. This was the case when I first heard Endwell. After seeing that they recently signed to Victory Records, I stumbled across the band's myspace and listened to several generic scream/sing styled demos. My initial opinion was this was what it would sound like to take a hardcore band and throw in some pop punk styled singing around the choruses. While I initially wasn’t impressed by the band's demos, I still decided to check out their debut full length, “Homeland Insecurity.”
Needless to say, on the first spin through my opinion on the band hadn’t changed much at all. There was still the standard tough guy shouting and high pitched singing, there was still the typical distorted guitar riffs, and there was still the same generic breakdowns recycled throughout the album. However, after giving the album a few more chances to impress, it did just that. Endwell will never get any credit for reinventing the wheel, but at least the songs that comprise “Homeland Insecurity” provide a number of thrills during the ride.
Musically, Endwell can be labeled as predictable and unoriginal as, for the most part, you’ve heard the same riffs and song structures before. Also, the band overuses the breakdown, which is typically never that necessary in the first place. However, after listening to songs like “Four Letter Words” and “Single and Loving It,” you can detect that the band might actually be adept musicians, as their trace use of soloing shows that the band could be doing better things. Vocally, the high pitched singing is about as textbook as you could get, but it still manages to work throughout most of the album, even creating several choruses that are rather catchy. The band occasionally mixes it up with the use of gang vocals, which work perfectly on “Whine and Dine.” However, the band nearly disregards the few elements that help them stand out, replacing them with the components that will allow them to fit into the scene.
“Homeland Insecurity” is nothing but one immense inner conflict. Not once on the album does Endwell come off as knowing what they want to do, as their full length lacks the vision needed to make it truly worthy. Sometimes they decide to branch out towards their pop-punk influences, with catchy choruses and singing, while other times they fall back on their hardcore roots, trying to sound as brutal as they can possibly sound with the generic tough guy vocals and redundant breakdowns. The band does have its moments, it’s just that they don’t capitalize on it. When it comes down to it, this album can be fun to listen to, but there are better options out there, including label mates A Day to Remember, who delivered their take on the ‘pop mosh’ scene perfectly.