The BurgerBlog

Anarbor

Just out of high school pop-punk band Anarbor is boring. Or at least, that was my first impression when I first started listening to their EP Hearing Colours Seeing Sounds. But after a few listens, I’ve decided that this band is worth reviewing, seeing as their following EP showed significant improvement. Hearing Colours Seeing Sounds won’t change the way you listen to music, address anything groundbreaking, or provide a new style of music. However, it will give you the first peek into Anarbor, a band I suspect will grow big within the next three years.

Slade Echeverri, the band’s lead singer, uses the opener “I’ll Stay To The West” to flaunt his Brendon Urieish vocals. Somewhat emo, somewhat grunge, mostly pop, “I’ll Stay To The West” is by far the best song on the EP.

The following track, “Where The Wild Things Are (Monsters),” is the perfect example of Anarbor’s downfalls. Some of the lyrics are as follows:

“You’re the monster underneath/Lost of all faith/Feeding off my dreams/Where I thought I was safe/So shut your mouth/And bite your tongue/Because your a liar never fooling anyone/You’re the smoke in the air making everyone choke.”

Cringe? So did I. And Anarbor offers no originality to make this song worth listening to over and over, except for the offer of poppish catchiness.

A quality piece on this album is “Anatomy,” which is comparable to the Plain White T’s slower side. With harpy guitar riffs and Echeverri’s carrying voice, the only thing that could murder this track is lyrics. Homicide it is! “I wanna feel the beat of your selfish heart/As our bodies melt into one in the dark/I wanna hold you close as we fall into the night.” Not as horrible as “Where The Wild Things Are (Monsters),” but still cliché and a bit misplaced.

By the last track, it’s clear that Anarbor is aiming to attract fans with a familiar sound. Hearing Colours Seeing Sounds doesn’t offer anything new to music fans, but thankfully Anarbor has a second, more recent EP that demonstrates growth within the band. Hearing Colours Seeing Sounds is an EP that future fans of Anarbor will buy and think, Wow, they came from that. I see future growth for this band, and once they outgrow the first album jitters, they will be popular.

Rating: C-

Recommended Songs: Anatomy, I’ll Stay To The West

Toss These Songs: Where The Wild Things Are (Monsters)

The Killers

Where did Duran Duran and David Bowie go? The Killers seem to have found some new influence for their sophomore album, Sam’s Town, and it doesn’t work. “It’s not so bad, it’s not so bad,” Flowers begs in “Bling (Confession of a King)” with his American accent. Oh Brandon. It’s not awful, but it’s pretty grotesque.

What made Hot Fuss so successful was the synth filled 80′s-esque glam, which The Killers have traded in for Bob Dylan. The band seems to have taken what worked tactfully well in Hot Fuss, like catchy bass rifts and choruses, and injected it into their new sound. Unfortunately, little signatures do not make an album.

Sam’s Town is not all lost; it does hold a few singles, but it does take wading to get to them. “When You Were Young,” the third track on the album, sounds similar to “Mr. Brightside,” the smash single on Hot Fuss. The synths carry the snappy song, while Flowers belts, “He doesn’t look a thing like Jesus/But he talks like a gentleman/Like you imagined when you were young.”

“For Reasons Unknown” and “Bones” are also worth mentioning. “For Reasons Unknown” has a great buildup, but after hearing Flowers’ whine resonate throughout the song it becomes dull and irritating. “Bones,” however, is fun. The ska-ish horns give the punch that is lacking in the rest of the album. The song isn’t unlike “All These Things I’ve Done” in The Killers’ debut album.

In sum, nice try, but I believe that The Killers have a lot more talent that they could tap into. Hot Fuss worked; don’t fix what isn’t broken.

Rating: C-

Recommended Songs: Bones, When You Were Young

Toss These Songs: Uncle Johnny, My List’, ‘The Killers: Sam’s Town

Welcome to the BurgerBlog, a music review site for music lovers. This blog is apt to review anything, from U2 to Dave Barnes to Fergie, and will throw fastballs at the artists as they fight for the coveted A-grade Burger. The grading system is similar to that of high school; the bands who don’t try fail, those who are average get C’s, etc etc. Enjoy!