Eye Alaska - Genesis Underground
Record Label: Fearless Records
Release Date: July 7, 2009
A lot of young bands these days tend to jump the gun as far as debuts go, but Eye Alaska got the process right. Their 2008 EP, Yellow and Elephant, was a good introduction to the band, showcasing the band’s self-deemed “cinematic-rock.” The label couldn’t be closer to the truth, either. Their powerful and effortless blend of pop, rock, jazz, r&b and hip-hop flows seamlessly. With their first studio LP Genesis Underground, the band was able to capitalize on a sound that didn’t stray too far from what fans were used to.
It’s almost impossible to find something that you don’t find appealing about Genesis Underground. It has straight-forward rock songs such as “Mutiny Off the Aleutian Coast” and endearing pop anthems such as “Walk Like a Gentleman,” and maintains a similar accessibility throughout the entire album.
Pardon the lack of a better and less overused word, but Genesis Underground boasts a certain swagger that hasn’t been heard in pop music in a long time. Singer Brandon Wronski stepped up his talents in nearly every aspect that a singer should. He exudes a new-found confidence, as heard in the ‘ha, yup’ ad-libs of “American Landslide,” an obvious shoe-in for an album highlight. The same confidence works against him, though. As great of a frontman that Wronski is, he still has a lot of maturing to go, especially lyrically.
There are some obvious tweaks in Eye Alaska’s sound. With spoken intros on songs like “Show Me Daluv,” and an enthusiastic, albeit fake applause on “Good to Go,” one of the things you’ll notice first is that it feels like the band is performing this album live, which could go both ways as far as reception goes. Also, the group ventured out further into hip-hop, enlisting rapper VerBS to do guest vocals on two of the songs.
It’s always refreshing to see a band not only stick to a proven formula, but tighten up the same formula and create a product even more cohesive and accessible than a previous release. Yellow and Elephant was a huge change of pace and a true gem that was more than likely overlooked by many. Genesis Underground is even more versatile. There is no specific season, time or place for this album. You could play this album during a drive on a winter night just as well as you could on a hot summer’s day. If promoted properly, has a huge potential for crossover and is a easy candidate for one of the best albums of 2009.
I just started listening to their EP and I can't get enough of it. Its so fucking good and I'm sure Genesis is even better. These dudes deserve to be huge and I hope they recieve the promotion they deserve.
To the OP: Do you write for another site? I was looking up the reviews for this album on Wikipedia and this exact review was on some other site. Well anyways I love the review. Good job
yes sir, that's me. i write for weworemasks.com - thanks for reading man.
and if you think the EP is that good, then you'll love this album. it's the EP on steroids.
Cool dude. Once I give the EP some more time I'll definitely check out this album.
This is kind of a silly question but I though you might know. Has the singer ever explained why is is always wearing a backpack?
i interviewed him for school a while back and i asked him about it. he just kept ot vague and said it has things in it that are very personal, self reflective and of sentimental worth.
Great live performance, saw them just the other night in Austin. Wronski knows how to really manipulate the mic to achieve the album-quality vocals. So much energy from the band too! If anyone gets a chance to see them, it's totally worth it. I've always thought this band a had a new funky fresh sound, while still keeping the alternative rock base.
Still haven't heard this enough to form a good opinion. But I listened to it a few times online before it was released and for the most part I dug what I heard. I'd have to say I like the pop and rock type stuff more than the hip hop jams. I can dig it though.
extremely well written review.
usually i tend to stay away from non-member reviews because most people doing a review use the same tersm over and over again and don't describe the album at all. great job.
i just got into these guys and picked up Yellow & Elephant EP and i'm gonna want to get this full length soon. and this makes me that much eager to get it.
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