Chris Fallon
02/19/09, 08:44 PM
The Motel Life - We All Left Something Behind
Record Label: Unsigned
Release Date: October 27, 2008
Take a dash of The Get Up Kids, the raw yet delicate nature of As Tall As Lions, throw in some I Am The Movie-era Motion City Soundtrack and a tight emo-sound full of pop hooks and tempo changes. Add all that together, and you have yourself the young California foursome on the verge of becoming a future threat on the indie rock scene.
Perhaps the most impressive tidbit about The Motel Life is they sound like an experienced band composed of new ideas conjured up from the aforementioned inspirations. Yet this eight-track disc, We All Left Something Behind is their debut, and it's remarkably mature and steady for such a young group of musicians.
Michael Escanuelas has a gentle voice one second ("So Strange") and then breaks into a static-laced wail the next ("Presale," the title cut), at times resembling As Tall As Lions' Dan Nigro and Motion City Soundtrack's Justin Pierre. The deeply focused lyrics drive the point home even further when Escanuelas sings, "And the news reported the worst today" on the haunting subtext of "Ghosts." The guitars are light and breathy, leaving room for the vocals to take over, and the bass playing hovers behind it all, convincing bodies to sway back & forth. Nicholas Camacho's fervent drum beats sound full and tight, contributing a few wonderful shifts in tempo, enabling Escanuelas to play a game of cat-and-mouse with his rhythmic tango.
There are definitely signs of a young band here, despite the impressive nature of these eight songs. The lyrics are certainly centered on feelings of college-aged confusion & anxiety, and at times, repeat themselves enough to get redundant, losing their steam. Escanuelas also borrows a few too many cliches at pivotal moments when songs need to hit their emotional climax ("Hunting Soldiers (Soldiers Hunting)"). While there are no tremendous changes in flow, the record plays at an even pace -- and you must remember this is a self-released debut. With the right experienced producer and label (although, hats off to another youngster, Dave Trautz, for his studio work here), The Motel Life will certainly not be left behind.
As Tall As Lions; The Get Up Kids; The Promise Ring; early Motion City Soundtrack, at their most relaxed."We All Left Something Behind," "Presale" and "I'll Find Myself Another State"
1. Good Morning
2. We All Left Something Behind
3. Presale
4. Ghosts
5. So Strange
6. Hunting Soldiers (Soldiers Hunting)
7. The Country Song
8. I'll Find Myself Another StateMichael Escanuelas: vocals
Judcody Limon: guitars
Anthony Lujan: bass
Nicholas Camacho: drums
Official Myspace (http://www.myspace.com/themotellife)[/URL][URL="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001KLY0K4?ie=UTF8&tag=absolutepun02-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B001KLY0K4"]Amazon MP3 (http://www.themotellife.com)
Record Label: Unsigned
Release Date: October 27, 2008
Take a dash of The Get Up Kids, the raw yet delicate nature of As Tall As Lions, throw in some I Am The Movie-era Motion City Soundtrack and a tight emo-sound full of pop hooks and tempo changes. Add all that together, and you have yourself the young California foursome on the verge of becoming a future threat on the indie rock scene.
Perhaps the most impressive tidbit about The Motel Life is they sound like an experienced band composed of new ideas conjured up from the aforementioned inspirations. Yet this eight-track disc, We All Left Something Behind is their debut, and it's remarkably mature and steady for such a young group of musicians.
Michael Escanuelas has a gentle voice one second ("So Strange") and then breaks into a static-laced wail the next ("Presale," the title cut), at times resembling As Tall As Lions' Dan Nigro and Motion City Soundtrack's Justin Pierre. The deeply focused lyrics drive the point home even further when Escanuelas sings, "And the news reported the worst today" on the haunting subtext of "Ghosts." The guitars are light and breathy, leaving room for the vocals to take over, and the bass playing hovers behind it all, convincing bodies to sway back & forth. Nicholas Camacho's fervent drum beats sound full and tight, contributing a few wonderful shifts in tempo, enabling Escanuelas to play a game of cat-and-mouse with his rhythmic tango.
There are definitely signs of a young band here, despite the impressive nature of these eight songs. The lyrics are certainly centered on feelings of college-aged confusion & anxiety, and at times, repeat themselves enough to get redundant, losing their steam. Escanuelas also borrows a few too many cliches at pivotal moments when songs need to hit their emotional climax ("Hunting Soldiers (Soldiers Hunting)"). While there are no tremendous changes in flow, the record plays at an even pace -- and you must remember this is a self-released debut. With the right experienced producer and label (although, hats off to another youngster, Dave Trautz, for his studio work here), The Motel Life will certainly not be left behind.
As Tall As Lions; The Get Up Kids; The Promise Ring; early Motion City Soundtrack, at their most relaxed."We All Left Something Behind," "Presale" and "I'll Find Myself Another State"
1. Good Morning
2. We All Left Something Behind
3. Presale
4. Ghosts
5. So Strange
6. Hunting Soldiers (Soldiers Hunting)
7. The Country Song
8. I'll Find Myself Another StateMichael Escanuelas: vocals
Judcody Limon: guitars
Anthony Lujan: bass
Nicholas Camacho: drums
Official Myspace (http://www.myspace.com/themotellife)[/URL][URL="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001KLY0K4?ie=UTF8&tag=absolutepun02-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B001KLY0K4"]Amazon MP3 (http://www.themotellife.com)