Adam Pfleider
06/16/08, 11:10 AM
Jamies Elsewhere - Guidebook for Sinners Turned Saints
Record Label: Victory Records
Release Date: May 27, 2008
With every genre, whether it was the beginnings of rap or the early '90's grunge scene, it will eventually be flooded and listeners will be submerged in artists with records they could have sworn they've already heard before.
Welcome to the new Victory Records line-up, Jamies Elsewhere. Victory has finally sunk their wallets into Craig Owens territory, and like much of the muck that's splattered across MySpace, Purevolume and even AbsolutePunk.net, expect a lot of the expected.
Keyboards: check. Sick half-time breakdowns: check. Low-pitch growls to glass-shattering high frequency chorus vocals: double check!
Guidebook for Sinners Turned Saints, the band's full-length debut, will fit nicely between Chiodos' Bone Palace Ballet and The Devil Wears Prada's Plagues in the record collection of flat-lining nu-nu-metal fans everywhere.
"Life Ain't Easy When You're A Mythical Creature," starts the album with a pretty piano intro (yawn) right into a dueling catastrophic guitar breakdown and dual screams and singing. Is this sounding familiar yet?
"I Didn't Mean to Interrupt...," "Late Nights," and "The Love Letter Collection" all run together. When the listener thinks the screams will get ditched for Mayday Parade power-pop at the end of "The Love Letter Collection," those bellows find their way in the song by the end.
"The Saint, the Sword, the Savior," sounds like the band got heavy into Mae for a week, and adds a change-up to the albums beginning, possibly standing out as the best track of the entire album, though lyrically weak.
Don't fret screamo-boppers, "The Politics of Knife Fighting" pounds out a nice intro breakdown and growling vocals to bring you out of that confusing transition you were just in, even though the keyboard has some shining moments on this track, like it jumped in front of the band for some lime-light.
There's much of the same until the acoustic/stringed closer "Memories Make Good Company." Completely unexpected as an ender in terms of timbre and lack of brutality, but just another second rate emo-ballad to the trained ear.
Jamies Elsewhere is unfortunately another drop in the puddle of an increasingly flooded market that hasn't crashed. For those into this kind of thing, it'll hold over until the new Underoath disc puts the rest to shame, otherwise just chalk up another weekly artist signed to Victory Records.
Chiodos' Bone Palace Ballet; The Devil Wears Prada's Plauges; Mayday Parade's A Lesson in Romantics
myspace.com/jamieselsewhere (http://www.myspace.com/jamieselsewhere)
Record Label: Victory Records
Release Date: May 27, 2008
With every genre, whether it was the beginnings of rap or the early '90's grunge scene, it will eventually be flooded and listeners will be submerged in artists with records they could have sworn they've already heard before.
Welcome to the new Victory Records line-up, Jamies Elsewhere. Victory has finally sunk their wallets into Craig Owens territory, and like much of the muck that's splattered across MySpace, Purevolume and even AbsolutePunk.net, expect a lot of the expected.
Keyboards: check. Sick half-time breakdowns: check. Low-pitch growls to glass-shattering high frequency chorus vocals: double check!
Guidebook for Sinners Turned Saints, the band's full-length debut, will fit nicely between Chiodos' Bone Palace Ballet and The Devil Wears Prada's Plagues in the record collection of flat-lining nu-nu-metal fans everywhere.
"Life Ain't Easy When You're A Mythical Creature," starts the album with a pretty piano intro (yawn) right into a dueling catastrophic guitar breakdown and dual screams and singing. Is this sounding familiar yet?
"I Didn't Mean to Interrupt...," "Late Nights," and "The Love Letter Collection" all run together. When the listener thinks the screams will get ditched for Mayday Parade power-pop at the end of "The Love Letter Collection," those bellows find their way in the song by the end.
"The Saint, the Sword, the Savior," sounds like the band got heavy into Mae for a week, and adds a change-up to the albums beginning, possibly standing out as the best track of the entire album, though lyrically weak.
Don't fret screamo-boppers, "The Politics of Knife Fighting" pounds out a nice intro breakdown and growling vocals to bring you out of that confusing transition you were just in, even though the keyboard has some shining moments on this track, like it jumped in front of the band for some lime-light.
There's much of the same until the acoustic/stringed closer "Memories Make Good Company." Completely unexpected as an ender in terms of timbre and lack of brutality, but just another second rate emo-ballad to the trained ear.
Jamies Elsewhere is unfortunately another drop in the puddle of an increasingly flooded market that hasn't crashed. For those into this kind of thing, it'll hold over until the new Underoath disc puts the rest to shame, otherwise just chalk up another weekly artist signed to Victory Records.
Chiodos' Bone Palace Ballet; The Devil Wears Prada's Plauges; Mayday Parade's A Lesson in Romantics
myspace.com/jamieselsewhere (http://www.myspace.com/jamieselsewhere)