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| Melee - Devils & Angels | Melee - Devils & Angels
Record Label: Warner Bros.
Release Date: April 3, 2007
They say you can't judge a book by its cover. Even so, one look at the cover art of Melee's album Devils & Angels will give you pretty good idea of what to expect from the band: peace, love, beauty, and an array of music much like the spectrum of colors on featured in the wheel rotating around the logo of a peace sign inscribed in a heart. At their musical core, Melee is a refreshing combination of the hopeful tones of the Goo Goo Dolls, the piano-rock passion of Waking Ashland, the inventive happy rock of Queen, and the grandiose arrangements of old school soul. The truly unique feature of this band, however, is the lead singer, Chris Cron, whose voice is mature enough to be compared to, but not yet considered in the company of, Josh Groban and Freddie Mercury. He adds a pure, assured tone to all of the songs that makes Melee a band standing out from the rest of the piano-poppers in the genre. This assured tone and feeling to almost all the songs makes the album sappy, yes, but overall the sap is worn away by the overwhelming feeling of hope and happiness.
The tracks on DA are largely love anthems about the persistence of love, whether for a girl or the world, amid much of the struggles that face us in this world. Right from the first tracks we see that Melee believe in the overall good of the world. "built to Last" and "Rhythm of Rain" are shummering pop songs about outlasting strife, whether in love or in life itself. Keyboards and guitars wash over the Cron's voice, making his brilliantly mature voice echo through the songs. They are not necessarily catchy, but they put a smile on your face: already you can feel that Melee are going to make it seem like there is sunshine outside and that the world is a good place.
The begging to be played live "Frequently Baby" is a Jerry Lee Lewis-esque keyboard tune with rocking guitars that just exude fun. Here Cron shows that his voice can be at times both choral and poppy, much like many of the poppers of the 80s. Guitar solos added to the talented playing of Cron on the keys make this song a rocker to sway your head to and just straight dance. "For A Lifetime" is a Waking Ashland rocking tune that features one of the few weaknesses of the album: the lyrics. Much like the Goo Goo Dolls, Melee are not aiming for lyrical complexity, instead opting for sometimes cheesy lyrics. Cron's delivery takes the lyrics a little bit upward, but tracks like "For a Lifetime" and the weakest album track "Biggest Mistake" can't escape from lyrical simplicity. The outro of "lifetime" features excellent background vocals and layered textures accentuating the end guitar solo pull the song together and ultimately finish it in beautiful fashion.
"Drive Away" sounds like a more piano driven b-side from the Goo Goo Dolls most recent effort Let Love In. It is a love song that features acoustic and electric guitar layering among Cron's effortless delivery. This track and its also Goo Goo Dolls-esque follower, "Can't Hold On," accentuate another strength of the album: prodcution. Howard Benson, major producer alert, does a beautiful job of bringing out the best part of Melee and bringing their epic sound to life. "Can't Hold On" is another mirror of the Goo Goo Dolls, however Cron's voice takes the song to a place that is overwhelmingly more soul that the Dolls ever could pull off. The song echoes of Queen's grandiosity, with Mercury's delivery on Queen's song much like Cron's on Melee's song. His delivery never wails, instead opting for soaring notes that sound like they could be held for hours. The lines "I want to be free" carry the listener epicly into the last half of the song, and indeed the last half of the album, which features a much more souful Melee shining through with a message of hope.
"Imitation," "Biggest Mistake," and "You Got" are solid piano-rock tracks that echo of Queen and Waking Ashland, but they fail to match the tracks that are scattered in between them, and as such seem to be the most forgettable songs on the album. That being said, a band like Ashland or Dapne Loves Derby would kill to make songs as complex and structurally brilliant as those three. But Cron and co. can do better, and they do on the albums two standout tracks, "Love Carries On" and "She's Gonna find Me Here."
"Love Carries On" is a Queen goes gospel song that is as epic as the vocal melodies in its chorus. Cron takes center stage among the admittedly brilliant guitar work; he is both a great keyboard player for his genre as well as possibly the best vocalist of this year so far (and that includes Patrick Stump). Among all the rocking and arena worthy sounds, you can still see Cron and the band in a gospel church performing these songs for a congregation for the Church of Love. Cron does enough improvising here to strengthen this comparison. "She's Gonna Find Me Here" is a track that echoes of Marc Cohn, a talent 90s songwriter that wrote gospel songs of love. Do not ever pass this song up; it is one of the most sincere love songs, complete with song structure that recalls traditional gospel melodies. Organs and a soft drum beat accentuated the beautiful duet between Cron and the piano, making it all the more epic to finish with a accompanying guitar solo.
The album finishes in a Springsteen, Queen, Waking Ashland, and Goo Goo Dolls finish that is not as epic as you might expect, but you leave the album feeling complete. Chris Cron and co have created the most hopeful and lovingly sincere record of the year, and they will not be remiss among the rest of the years strongest albums. There message of hope is not often found in todays musical world, and as such Melee are treading into risky territory. But with Cron to lead them, they make Devils & Angels beautiful and, dare I say, angelic. Bravo to them for treading in unfamiliar waters. Do not miss Melee, they may just make the world a more lovely place for you after listening. As they say in the closer "Stand Up"
"Stand up, Stand up/
Brothers be strong enough/
We are trying hard to be ourselves again/"
And with any luck, we will be. |
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Displaying posts 1 - 9 of 9. |
07:52 PM on 03/25/07 | Very well written, I'm impressed. Made me actually look at the album differently than I did the first time. | | |
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05:29 AM on 03/26/07 | Very well written, I'm impressed. Made me actually look at the album differently than I did the first time. |
wow, thanks alot. i didnt come into the cd expecting much, partly because i didn't really like Melee's first cd. But this was definetely impressive
what did you think of it before? | | |
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09:59 AM on 03/30/07 | aww man you didn't mention the Hall and Oates song.
Good review though, I just don't know how many times you mentioned the Goo Goo Dolls, do they really sound that alike? I've never really listened to them. | | |
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10:28 AM on 03/30/07 | aww man you didn't mention the Hall and Oates song.
Good review though, I just don't know how many times you mentioned the Goo Goo Dolls, do they really sound that alike? I've never really listened to them. |
Hall and OAtes?
but yeah, some of the songs on Devils and Angels sound like b-sides from the Goo Goo Dolls new album... but thats a good thing. | | |
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11:02 AM on 04/02/07 | I get to see them Live in one weeks time with The Early November, I'm looking forward to it! It's true this album just makes me feel happy even when I don't want. | | |
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11:15 PM on 04/03/07 | Where the hell can I find this album ? FYE maybe ? | | |
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08:59 AM on 04/04/07 | Where the hell can I find this album ? FYE maybe ? |
i havent found one place thats sold it... not even Newbury Comics.
Warner needs to get this out there... its so ballin. | | |
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06:20 PM on 04/12/07 | for those who cant find the album, melee posted this blog on their myspace a little while ago:
-PLACES TO BUY OUR ALBUM!!!!!! PLEASE READ!!!!
Hey!
Here are the places you can find our new album "Devils & Angels"
*All Virgin Megastores
*Southern Cali Best Buys
*Amazon.com
*iTunes
**And your local independent music store, such as;
Newbury Comics
Zia
Bull Moose
Record and Tape Traders
Exclusive Co.
Rasputin
Amoeba
J&R
Dimple
Independent
Lou's Records
Plan 9
Disc Exchange
Electric Fetus
Rolling Stone
Homer's
Silver Platters
Music Millennium
Fingerprints
Waterloo
Easy Street
Salzer's
Nebraska Furniture Mart
Sonic Boom | | |
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