Darren McLeod
11/20/05, 05:23 PM
A Late Design - A Late Design EP
Record Label: Independent
Release Date: April 17, 2006
The word self prefaces almost everything about this EP. It is self-titled. It was self-produced. It has been self-released for several months now, with the band not making a penny off it. They just hand it out to everyone at shows, and let you download it in its entirety off of their MySpace site. (http://www.myspace.com/alatedesign) That's a lot of hard work for four songs. Luckily for the band, the hard work has paid off.
A Late Design plays a style of music reminiscent of Maybe I'll Catch Fire-era Alkaline Trio, but with more intricate guitar work (which would be expected, seeing as they have two guitarists vs just Skiba), and more post-hardcore influences. They aren't particularly dark, aggressive, or poppy, but fall into a middle ground that works well with the vocal harmonies. Best of all - they avoid falling back on screaming. If they need to convey more emotion, the singer raises his voice and belts out the words with more power, but never does he start growling where not necessary.
When you start listening to this EP, you're bound to notice the sound quality, or slight lack thereof. As mentioned above, they are unsigned and this is self-produced, and therefore it is lacking the polish you hear from most of the other bands' releases. This works both in favour of the band, because it gives them a raw sound that keeps the energy in the music, but it also hurts them because there are a few moments that definitely could have used some better production and a better recording.
The first track, "A Lovely Day To Die," is a good introduction to A Late Design's sound, and features guest vocals by Anthony of Bayside. It's a fast paced track, with a beautiful instrumental near the finish that ends with some explosive gang-chants, which ultimately helps it reach a climatic finish.
"Shadow of a Ghost" starts with a subdued introduction, where I have to admit - I thought Dan Andriano was singing the beginning. The chorus is the catchiest on the album, with chants of "I'm taking a ha-ha-holiday" echoing in your head afterwards.
The album goes a bit more melodic for "Rhapsody," which features something we don't see enough in our scene - teriffic acapella-style "ba da ba's" in a quiet space before picking it up again. It also has a great ending, with some excellent female harmonies as it closes with repetition of the phrase"you keep my heart beating."
The closer "East of Everything" closes the album as quickly as possible - both in the tempo and in the track length. It is arguably the weakest track of the album, as it doesn't seem as memorable as the other tracks. It just sort of ends without you noticing it really went by.
A Late Design shows, if nothing else, that the DIY ethic that people relate with old-school punk bands is still in the hearts of those carrying the torch today in the genre's many offshoots. Sure, it's not perfect, but perhaps that's what adds to its attraction - this sounds like music. It's raw and it's full of energy and passion, and it's an EP I'd recommend.
--
Band Website: http://www.alatedesign.com
Band Mp3s: http://www.myspace.com/alatedesign
Record Label: Independent
Release Date: April 17, 2006
The word self prefaces almost everything about this EP. It is self-titled. It was self-produced. It has been self-released for several months now, with the band not making a penny off it. They just hand it out to everyone at shows, and let you download it in its entirety off of their MySpace site. (http://www.myspace.com/alatedesign) That's a lot of hard work for four songs. Luckily for the band, the hard work has paid off.
A Late Design plays a style of music reminiscent of Maybe I'll Catch Fire-era Alkaline Trio, but with more intricate guitar work (which would be expected, seeing as they have two guitarists vs just Skiba), and more post-hardcore influences. They aren't particularly dark, aggressive, or poppy, but fall into a middle ground that works well with the vocal harmonies. Best of all - they avoid falling back on screaming. If they need to convey more emotion, the singer raises his voice and belts out the words with more power, but never does he start growling where not necessary.
When you start listening to this EP, you're bound to notice the sound quality, or slight lack thereof. As mentioned above, they are unsigned and this is self-produced, and therefore it is lacking the polish you hear from most of the other bands' releases. This works both in favour of the band, because it gives them a raw sound that keeps the energy in the music, but it also hurts them because there are a few moments that definitely could have used some better production and a better recording.
The first track, "A Lovely Day To Die," is a good introduction to A Late Design's sound, and features guest vocals by Anthony of Bayside. It's a fast paced track, with a beautiful instrumental near the finish that ends with some explosive gang-chants, which ultimately helps it reach a climatic finish.
"Shadow of a Ghost" starts with a subdued introduction, where I have to admit - I thought Dan Andriano was singing the beginning. The chorus is the catchiest on the album, with chants of "I'm taking a ha-ha-holiday" echoing in your head afterwards.
The album goes a bit more melodic for "Rhapsody," which features something we don't see enough in our scene - teriffic acapella-style "ba da ba's" in a quiet space before picking it up again. It also has a great ending, with some excellent female harmonies as it closes with repetition of the phrase"you keep my heart beating."
The closer "East of Everything" closes the album as quickly as possible - both in the tempo and in the track length. It is arguably the weakest track of the album, as it doesn't seem as memorable as the other tracks. It just sort of ends without you noticing it really went by.
A Late Design shows, if nothing else, that the DIY ethic that people relate with old-school punk bands is still in the hearts of those carrying the torch today in the genre's many offshoots. Sure, it's not perfect, but perhaps that's what adds to its attraction - this sounds like music. It's raw and it's full of energy and passion, and it's an EP I'd recommend.
--
Band Website: http://www.alatedesign.com
Band Mp3s: http://www.myspace.com/alatedesign