Gregory Robson
04/11/09, 01:29 PM
Endless Hallway - Autonomy Games
Record Label: Smokin' Mule Entertainment/Wind-Up Records
Release Date: April 28, 2009
In the past few years, the New York-based indie label Wind-Up Records has quietly pushed away from its hard-rock roots and found itself squarely in the smack of what's relative and popular. After years spent supporting bands like Creed, Seether and Evanescence, the 11-year-old label has branched off into country (Walk the Line soundtrack, Eric Durrance), singer/songwriter (Jeremy Fisher, Megan McCauley) and an assortment of indie (Pilot Speed, Company of Thieves, Stars of Track and Field) and modern rock (Thriving Ivory, People in Planes, Civil Twilight, FingerEleven). They've even signed pop-punk upstarts Cartel and Tickle Me Pink as well as Ohio favorites Hawthorne Heights.
And then there's the band Endless Hallway. Formed in 2004 by vocalist Ryan Jackson and guitarist Jono Evans the band recruited drummer Joe Mullen of Undermined and Michael Tye of Dead Reckless, on the suggestion of From First to Last vocalist Sonny Moore. The band's dramatic post-hardcore pop wields a delicate line between indie, art and rock. Displaying a professionalism, swagger and near-pristine polish, the band's debut album Autonomy Games makes a strong impression from the very first note until the album's conclusion.
Beginning with the dizzying, cavalcade of sound that is album opener "Autonomy Barrier," Endless Hallway brings the attitude from the very first minute. What's most striking about "Autonomy Barrier" though is the sweeping guitars and multi-layered vocals which gives the feel that there's more than just five people creating this song. It's as solid an album opener as one can hope for and the perfect a way to start a record Melodic second song "A Bad Current," blasts off like a cannon and is a shoe-in to land its way to radio charts. The one-two punch is startling, impressive and undeniably confident.
The album shifts with a dynamic range that is both dramatic and epic as they tackle power-pop on "Remora," balladeering on "Shallows" and dance on "Gamma," all of them with pristine precision and a maturity that belies their years. The band wears their pride though on dense, post-hardcore rock that's sonically audacious and almost always ferocious. The album's first single is the feisty "Solvency," which blisters along like a rocket, as Jackson sings, "I really wanted to love this world but I can't. I see romance in the open mouth on the face of a cannibal."
Tackling a wealth of influences and intricate arrangements is no easy task, but Endless Hallway does it with ease. Make no mistake about it, this Los Angeles band's daring sound is cocky and confident and manages to go the distance for an entire 43 minutes, which these days is a lot to ask. All eleven songs leap off the page with emotion and energy, and smolder inside the psyche. Noah Shain's flawless production marries well with the epic grandeur and sonic heights this disc soars to. This quintet is indeed ready for their close-up and Wind-Up Records has found their new prized possession.
Senses Fail, Thrice, Fightstar, Circa Survive, AFI
Myspace (http://www.myspace.com/endlesshallway)
Website (http://www.endlesshallway.com)
Record Label: Smokin' Mule Entertainment/Wind-Up Records
Release Date: April 28, 2009
In the past few years, the New York-based indie label Wind-Up Records has quietly pushed away from its hard-rock roots and found itself squarely in the smack of what's relative and popular. After years spent supporting bands like Creed, Seether and Evanescence, the 11-year-old label has branched off into country (Walk the Line soundtrack, Eric Durrance), singer/songwriter (Jeremy Fisher, Megan McCauley) and an assortment of indie (Pilot Speed, Company of Thieves, Stars of Track and Field) and modern rock (Thriving Ivory, People in Planes, Civil Twilight, FingerEleven). They've even signed pop-punk upstarts Cartel and Tickle Me Pink as well as Ohio favorites Hawthorne Heights.
And then there's the band Endless Hallway. Formed in 2004 by vocalist Ryan Jackson and guitarist Jono Evans the band recruited drummer Joe Mullen of Undermined and Michael Tye of Dead Reckless, on the suggestion of From First to Last vocalist Sonny Moore. The band's dramatic post-hardcore pop wields a delicate line between indie, art and rock. Displaying a professionalism, swagger and near-pristine polish, the band's debut album Autonomy Games makes a strong impression from the very first note until the album's conclusion.
Beginning with the dizzying, cavalcade of sound that is album opener "Autonomy Barrier," Endless Hallway brings the attitude from the very first minute. What's most striking about "Autonomy Barrier" though is the sweeping guitars and multi-layered vocals which gives the feel that there's more than just five people creating this song. It's as solid an album opener as one can hope for and the perfect a way to start a record Melodic second song "A Bad Current," blasts off like a cannon and is a shoe-in to land its way to radio charts. The one-two punch is startling, impressive and undeniably confident.
The album shifts with a dynamic range that is both dramatic and epic as they tackle power-pop on "Remora," balladeering on "Shallows" and dance on "Gamma," all of them with pristine precision and a maturity that belies their years. The band wears their pride though on dense, post-hardcore rock that's sonically audacious and almost always ferocious. The album's first single is the feisty "Solvency," which blisters along like a rocket, as Jackson sings, "I really wanted to love this world but I can't. I see romance in the open mouth on the face of a cannibal."
Tackling a wealth of influences and intricate arrangements is no easy task, but Endless Hallway does it with ease. Make no mistake about it, this Los Angeles band's daring sound is cocky and confident and manages to go the distance for an entire 43 minutes, which these days is a lot to ask. All eleven songs leap off the page with emotion and energy, and smolder inside the psyche. Noah Shain's flawless production marries well with the epic grandeur and sonic heights this disc soars to. This quintet is indeed ready for their close-up and Wind-Up Records has found their new prized possession.
Senses Fail, Thrice, Fightstar, Circa Survive, AFI
Myspace (http://www.myspace.com/endlesshallway)
Website (http://www.endlesshallway.com)