Klatzke
12/15/08, 10:10 AM
Alexisonfire - Watch Out!
Record Label: Equal Vision Records
Release Date: June 29, 2004
I became familiar with Alexisonfire's Watch Out! only recently. I've owned Crisis for quite some time, and when I saw this album with a bright orange "used" sticker at FYE, I decided to add it to my collection. I'm a fan of their sophomore album, and logic follows that I should also enjoy another of theirs, especially since it seems to be the more widely accepted of the two. So, on the way home, I popped it in the CD player of my friend's truck and waited to hear what it is that makes Watch Out! the more widely loved Alexisonfire album.
For those unfamiliar with the band, their clean vocalist, Dallas Greene, is on par with some of the best vocalists currently in "the scene." The first noticeable difference I found was that Greene's singing seems to be a bit more pronounced and varying on this album, compared to Crisis. As well, they seem to have less structured songs on this album (which I see as a good thing). While Crisis sometimes delves into all-too-familiar structures, Watch Out! seems to use structures that are both more diverse, and many times, more entertaining. The instrumentation on this album also seems to be headed a completely different direction than on their latest album. On that album, the guitarists just get so lost in the sound that they aren't memorable. Here, however, if you pay a bit of attention, you'll hear the guitars raging and attempting to make a name for themselves over the smooth vocal talents of Greene and the bite of George Pettit's screaming.
Alexisonfire approached post-hardcore pretty head-on with this release. However, they're really not playing the standard fare that I've come to expect from this genre. One of the biggest indicators of this, at least to me, are the not-so-structured-structures that they use. Not following the whole verse-chorus-verse-chorus structure leaves room for them to play around with their sound throughout the tracks. There isn't anywhere they do this more than vocally. They balance the screaming and clean vocals well, and in many places don't make it obvious what you have coming next. They have some songs that are basically all clean vocals, while they have some that are more aggressive and see Pettit playing a large role.
Most of the tracks on this album are solid, and I can't really point out any of them that I would cut from the album. The ones that really shine are "Side Walk When She Walks" and "No Transitory," because of the great balance between the vocalists and Greene's killer performance. "Sharks And Danger" is also a great track, and has Greene singing over a sample until the end of the track where Pettit enters with a flourish.
I can kind of see why fans of the band would have been a little bit upset with Crisis. In the places where this album really shines, Crisis is a kind of let-down. While I still vouch for Crisis as a solid and powerful album, in comparison to Watch Out! it does look a tad pale. Overall, Watch Out! is a solid album. They don't follow any real norms, and for a debut album, it's an ambitious release. They showcase just about everything great about their sound and manage not to misstep. I no longer have to wonder why Watch Out! is Alexisonfire's golden child -- I've listened to it any found out for myself.
post-hardcore; From Autumn to Ashes
myspace.com/alexisonfire (http://www.myspace.com/alexisonfire)
Record Label: Equal Vision Records
Release Date: June 29, 2004
I became familiar with Alexisonfire's Watch Out! only recently. I've owned Crisis for quite some time, and when I saw this album with a bright orange "used" sticker at FYE, I decided to add it to my collection. I'm a fan of their sophomore album, and logic follows that I should also enjoy another of theirs, especially since it seems to be the more widely accepted of the two. So, on the way home, I popped it in the CD player of my friend's truck and waited to hear what it is that makes Watch Out! the more widely loved Alexisonfire album.
For those unfamiliar with the band, their clean vocalist, Dallas Greene, is on par with some of the best vocalists currently in "the scene." The first noticeable difference I found was that Greene's singing seems to be a bit more pronounced and varying on this album, compared to Crisis. As well, they seem to have less structured songs on this album (which I see as a good thing). While Crisis sometimes delves into all-too-familiar structures, Watch Out! seems to use structures that are both more diverse, and many times, more entertaining. The instrumentation on this album also seems to be headed a completely different direction than on their latest album. On that album, the guitarists just get so lost in the sound that they aren't memorable. Here, however, if you pay a bit of attention, you'll hear the guitars raging and attempting to make a name for themselves over the smooth vocal talents of Greene and the bite of George Pettit's screaming.
Alexisonfire approached post-hardcore pretty head-on with this release. However, they're really not playing the standard fare that I've come to expect from this genre. One of the biggest indicators of this, at least to me, are the not-so-structured-structures that they use. Not following the whole verse-chorus-verse-chorus structure leaves room for them to play around with their sound throughout the tracks. There isn't anywhere they do this more than vocally. They balance the screaming and clean vocals well, and in many places don't make it obvious what you have coming next. They have some songs that are basically all clean vocals, while they have some that are more aggressive and see Pettit playing a large role.
Most of the tracks on this album are solid, and I can't really point out any of them that I would cut from the album. The ones that really shine are "Side Walk When She Walks" and "No Transitory," because of the great balance between the vocalists and Greene's killer performance. "Sharks And Danger" is also a great track, and has Greene singing over a sample until the end of the track where Pettit enters with a flourish.
I can kind of see why fans of the band would have been a little bit upset with Crisis. In the places where this album really shines, Crisis is a kind of let-down. While I still vouch for Crisis as a solid and powerful album, in comparison to Watch Out! it does look a tad pale. Overall, Watch Out! is a solid album. They don't follow any real norms, and for a debut album, it's an ambitious release. They showcase just about everything great about their sound and manage not to misstep. I no longer have to wonder why Watch Out! is Alexisonfire's golden child -- I've listened to it any found out for myself.
post-hardcore; From Autumn to Ashes
myspace.com/alexisonfire (http://www.myspace.com/alexisonfire)