Broclee
04/02/09, 09:17 PM
Nice Guys Finish First - Nice Guys Finish First
Record Label: None
Release Date: April 29, 2008
It’s not uncommon on this site to see electronic music take some hear simply for the fact that it’s electronic music. Most of the time, I’d agree. However, Nice Guys Finish First is a step in the right direction towards breaking that mold with their self-titled debut. Nice Guys Finish First’s creator/mastermind, eighteen-year-old Russell, makes infectious dance-rock much in the vain of early PlayRadioPlay!, with a little bit of Nintendocore synths thrown in for good measure.
The album begins with “First Love,” a track that displays the best aspects of Russell’s song-writing: catchy synth arrangements, chugging, palm-muted guitars, and relatable, earnest lyrics that you’d find in any young pop-punk band. Next up is the black sheep of the album, the mostly acoustic “I Wanted You To Know.” While the simple electronic drums are a nice touch, familiarity might over-shadow this track, giving it an overwhelming “I feel like I’ve heard this before” vibe. “Tonight Tonight” features some great back-and forth vocals, while the synths and drums tinker along. The album's best track, the trance-Killers hybrid of “Thunderstorm,” is an instrumental track that wouldn’t sound out of place in a dance-club with strobes light flashing and everyone shaking their asses off. The next few tracks carry a little too much likeness to bands like Hellogoodbye and Math the Band, which weighs them down considerably. The album picks back up in the end with the one-two punch of “Oh, Shooting Star!” and the album's closer, “Revenge of the Arcade.” “Oh, Shooting Star!” is the best of the vocal tracks, while “Revenge of the Arcade” is another instrumental, only this time it’s more like a MIDI version of Horse the Band. It’s short and sweet, though, and ends the album on a smile.
As usual for this genre, lyrics and vocals are the album’s biggest downfall. The over-reliance on Auto-tune gets tiresome, and could easily be done without on future releases (just listen to “I Wanted You To Know”). While the harmonies on most songs are nice, they are just on the verge of being too heavy, due to lower-register vocals. The lyrics are a double-edged sword due to the fact that while young, earnest lyrics are great, they always come off as somewhat juvenile. Some of these songs could easily be a few years old, judging by lyrical content.
Nice Guys Finish First have given us a release that, while not great, is still good, and shows great potential for improvement. Russell is young, and judging by tracks like “Thunderstorm” and “Oh, Shooting Star!” the seed has already been planted.
pre-Texas PlayRadioPlay!; NeverShoutNever; inoffensive electronica
myspace.com/niceguysfinishfirst (http://www.myspace.com/niceguysfinishfirst)
Record Label: None
Release Date: April 29, 2008
It’s not uncommon on this site to see electronic music take some hear simply for the fact that it’s electronic music. Most of the time, I’d agree. However, Nice Guys Finish First is a step in the right direction towards breaking that mold with their self-titled debut. Nice Guys Finish First’s creator/mastermind, eighteen-year-old Russell, makes infectious dance-rock much in the vain of early PlayRadioPlay!, with a little bit of Nintendocore synths thrown in for good measure.
The album begins with “First Love,” a track that displays the best aspects of Russell’s song-writing: catchy synth arrangements, chugging, palm-muted guitars, and relatable, earnest lyrics that you’d find in any young pop-punk band. Next up is the black sheep of the album, the mostly acoustic “I Wanted You To Know.” While the simple electronic drums are a nice touch, familiarity might over-shadow this track, giving it an overwhelming “I feel like I’ve heard this before” vibe. “Tonight Tonight” features some great back-and forth vocals, while the synths and drums tinker along. The album's best track, the trance-Killers hybrid of “Thunderstorm,” is an instrumental track that wouldn’t sound out of place in a dance-club with strobes light flashing and everyone shaking their asses off. The next few tracks carry a little too much likeness to bands like Hellogoodbye and Math the Band, which weighs them down considerably. The album picks back up in the end with the one-two punch of “Oh, Shooting Star!” and the album's closer, “Revenge of the Arcade.” “Oh, Shooting Star!” is the best of the vocal tracks, while “Revenge of the Arcade” is another instrumental, only this time it’s more like a MIDI version of Horse the Band. It’s short and sweet, though, and ends the album on a smile.
As usual for this genre, lyrics and vocals are the album’s biggest downfall. The over-reliance on Auto-tune gets tiresome, and could easily be done without on future releases (just listen to “I Wanted You To Know”). While the harmonies on most songs are nice, they are just on the verge of being too heavy, due to lower-register vocals. The lyrics are a double-edged sword due to the fact that while young, earnest lyrics are great, they always come off as somewhat juvenile. Some of these songs could easily be a few years old, judging by lyrical content.
Nice Guys Finish First have given us a release that, while not great, is still good, and shows great potential for improvement. Russell is young, and judging by tracks like “Thunderstorm” and “Oh, Shooting Star!” the seed has already been planted.
pre-Texas PlayRadioPlay!; NeverShoutNever; inoffensive electronica
myspace.com/niceguysfinishfirst (http://www.myspace.com/niceguysfinishfirst)