Sparks the Rescue - Eyes to the Sun
Record Label: Fearless
Release Date: May 5, 2009
When I first heard about Sparks the Rescue, I thought their name was cool. Yes, unfortunately, I tend to give more chances to bands with cool names. Sparks the Rescue. Hmm… nice. Not as nice as New Found Glory or We Were Promised Jetpacks – my personal favorite – but that sure caught my attention. I admit I don’t even know what’s the story behind their name, but that’s all in the past. They sure made much more of an impact on me than just that.
The Portland, ME pop-rockers were much less accessible in their beginning, back in good ol’ ‘05. Line-up changes saw the band changing gears and heading into a comfort zone of sorts. The hooks took place of the screams and the then-five-piece act released Eyes to the Sun. And talk about breathing fresh air. I would recommend listening to it just because of its’ addictiveness factor.
Openers “My Heart Radio” and “Pine Tree State” show how good the change turned out to be. The former is driven by gang wo-oh’s and a pounding beat, while the later shifts the attention to the guitar work. Single “Autumn” is a memorable throwback to ‘that’ summer (ha) and will immediately connect to those separated from their beloved ones by the state lines. This somewhat mellow song comes out even more memorable when guitarist Toby McAllister lends a line to the chorus. His low-pitch intermixes nicely with frontman Alex Roy’s somewhat cheesy delivery.
The record goes down a notch with “Hello Mexico”, another catchy summery tune that lacks the intensity of the first three tracks. The first half closes with two nicely-contrasting songs: “Skeleton”’s heavier nature and “We Love Like Vampires”' sugary chorus combine to keep the pace leveled.
The second half of Eyes to the Sun becomes sort of a hit or miss, and doesn’t hold up to the first’s heartfelt deliveries. That’s far from saying it doesn’t have it’s moments: “American Blues” and the early-All Time Low-esque closer “Saco Boys Have No Class” are the highlights, fast paced with good musicianship from every member.
The overall direction of the album goes for an old, tried and true pop rock formula: missing each other and remembering the good times. The lyrics are pretty straightforward and the production can be glossy at times, but doesn't hinder the band's capabilities. These four guys from the northeast are a very pleasant addition to the pop scene. They are on a big label, have already released another record, are constantly on tour, and have found their direction on the scene. With a little more love and another dozen sweet tunes, they might just see the sparks fly for themselves.
Boa resenha. Esse album deve parecer igual ao CD do The Swellers (foi o que eu entendi pelo "missing each other and remembering good times")...
swellers vai ser um dos meus próximos. ainda não ouvi, mas teve boa recepção. sim, esse álbum é o básico do pop rock, fala de bons tempos e memórias e amor. álbuns assim sempre me cativam, acho que vou acabar dando 8/10 pro do the swellers tambem hehe.
swellers vai ser um dos meus próximos. ainda não ouvi, mas teve boa recepção. sim, esse álbum é o básico do pop rock, fala de bons tempos e memórias e amor. álbuns assim sempre me cativam, acho que vou acabar dando 8/10 pro do the swellers tambem hehe.
É, é um pop-punk bem pop o do Swellers mesmo. Desculpa, eu já tenho o álbum do STR, mas tô com pouco tempo agora pra ouvir; quando eu ouvir eu falo pra você!
PS: Acho que fazer uma review do CD do The Swellers não é mto recomendado, pq já tem uma...
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holy crap, I never heard of that one. I'm checking it out for sure.
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