The Chorus Music Club Society • Page 214

I’m guessing you’ll get some assigned to you in the near future

 

@anonimito and I traded and he gave me:

Speak Low if You Speak Love: Nearsighted (2018) Pure Noise Records

Speak Low if You Speak Love is the side project of Ryan Scott Graham, bassist for pop punk band, State Champs. The album was produced by Aaron Marsh of Copeland fame and you can feel his palpable presence on much of the record. This is the bands second album and sees them moving away from their more stripped down, acoustic approach that could be compared to early Dashboard Confessional into a full fledged band that echoes a lot of Copeland's discography. At 49 minutes in length, Ryan & Co. keep your attention weaving in and out of various genres including acoustic ballads, pop rock, indie rock and jazz just to name a few. It is a very diverse record that will appeal just about anyone, especially on Chorus. If you go into this expecting State Champs, you will be sadly disappointed and it is great that he has this outlet to experiment with other things that don't fit within the pop punk realm.

The album opens with, Have I Changed, which draws a lot of comparisons to my last review of Vertical Horizon being very stripped down with Ryan singing, some mild synth beats and a steel guitar. It has this choir/hymn sound to it but ironically the song is about him questioning his faith.

"I’m a fraud between the pews on Sunday morning,
‘Cause I thought when I was young I knew it all,
I still cry when I hear my sister sing your praises,
‘Cause the world hasn’t swallowed her like it swallowed me"

It's a very nice intro track and sets the tone for the rest of the album.

Enough, the first single released for the album, follows with this jangly guitar and funky bass that would fit perfectly on a Emarosa record. This song is the perfect example of the evolution from the first album to this new bigger sound and shows how great the overall sound is. It is one of my favorite songs on the album and him speaking about a girl that he needs to get the courage to talk to.

'Oh, enough is good enough for what we’re holding onto,
I’ll wait for another rush of blood,
I’m filled up, like enough is good enough,
For another rush of blood"

Possibly my favorite song on the record is next, Contrasting Colors and is a nice contrast of his old stripped down sound mixed with the band coming in towards the back half. The use of a trumpet gives is so much power and him recanting about the fact that he cheated on his girlfriend/wife.

"You’re a well with water deep,
Its taste just out of reach,
And my hands are blistered still,
But what was it all for?,
To compromise what’s pure?,
Tell me: was I ever true?,
Swirling like oceans apart from each other,
You and I may never be lovers"

This theme of failed and regained relationships is consistent throughout the record and his voice fits the pain he is trying to convey perfectly. As I mentioned he kinds of winds in a out of the stripped down and full band sound and does so flawlessly so much so that either way could be equally successful.

This record was a bit of a grower for me and took a few listens to get into. I think the length of the album is what was hard to absorb at first but once you accept that it is more a late night slow burner, it totally makes sense. I will definitely be listening to this quite a bit and there is not really one song I didn't enjoy.

9.5/10

Favorite Songs:
Enough
Contrasting Colors
Circle Spinning
Safety Net
Swell

RIYL:
Indie Rock
Copeland
Emarosa

 

Fantastic job, Nate! I'm so glad you enjoyed it as much as you did!

I agree with your impressions, including your favorites! I agree that it takes a few listens to really get into, but then it becomes addictive once you know what to expect and have a better "mental roadmap" of the album, so to speak. You have almost all of my top favorites - "Your Love It Runs" is the only exception, and that one took a while to leave an impression, but I find the brass so enjoyable.

Aaron has guest vocals (I found them a bit difficult to find) on "Swell."

 

Thanks! It was a great recommendation and I will have to listen out for his guest vocals in Swell the next time.

 

Nice review! I was pleasantly surprised by this album as someone who isn't really interested in State Champs. I love "Ever Yours."

Some of the songs really take me back to that early-00s emo sound when I was just getting into the scene and feeling every note and lyric.

 

Exactly! I had read a review with those exact words. Simple yet so powerful. It is a very good album. I wouldn't be surprised to see him get bigger with this release. He opened for Neck Deep in Europe and that's pretty huge.

 

Shit sounds like i need to check this out! BTW I played the Teenage Wrist EP tonight. Album tomorrow finally.

 

I can't recommend it enough! (No pun intended.)

 

Their previous album was on my radar but i never ended up listening to it so im going to check out both

 

Don't know if I have ever even heard a song of theirs to be totally honest.

 

If you get partnered with me that’ll change lol. Good stuff

 

Very cool. Looking forward to your thoughts.

 

Big fan of this record and State Champs do nothing for me as well.

If anyone is a fan of this Speak Low record I would suggest checking out This Wild Life's Low Tides which was also produced by Aaron Marsh and you can tell. @Nate_Johnson @anonimito

 

Alright, last week @Nate_Johnson threw me over an album called Automata I by Between The Buried And Me. I've heard of these guys before, and seeing how they are a household name I've only heard bits and pieces but mainly back in high school. Now, the crazy part is I really enjoy Thomas Giles ! So, I'm not sure how to review this album because it's seems to be all over the place and it only has 6 songs. It kicks off with a track called " Condemned To The Gallows " I'll say this is a pretty solid opener. The song itself is a mix between prog and hardcore, you can hear a bunch a Rush in the song as well as Unearth. Those aren't bad influences to be had and the guitar work and the use of the double bass on this track is outstanding. One thing I already noticed is how a little bit of this reminds me of Thomas Giles solo project and that's not a bad thing ! " Yellow Eyes " is a pretty wicked song as well, this is a bit more thrash and Thomas Giles adds a pretty Layne Staley vibe to the song. I really enjoy the electronics as well. Now, " Millions " is a pretty sweet song because it shows the chops these guys really have and it adds a bit different vibe to the album. The production on this album is stellar, it really focuses on the rhythm section of this band a lot and I dig that. Now, the downside to this album for me are the screams. At this point in my life it's not as easy for me to listen to a album all the way through with all the screaming. When I was younger it was really my thing, I think if this album had more clean vocals it'd an outstanding album. Overall this album really has the songs and the production but the screams kind of turn me away. I'm not sure how to rate this album because I kind of have really mixed emotions about it.

 

I'll have to do a lot of profile stalking on whoever I get so I can work out who I can give what to.

 

Great review! Unfortunately the screams aren’t going anywhere but that’s why they all have side projects without them(Thomas does some on his solo records but not nearly as much as BTBAM). I am glad you can appreciate the musicality of it. Your last sentence sums them up perfectly: BTBAM as a band are a mix of emotions!

 

I LOVE This Wild Life! Falling Down is a song I sing to my son just about every night.

 

They can fucking play and that's the main aspect I enjoyed. And it's super cool how a lot of the bands influences range away from Metal. I really get a AIC vibe when Thomas gets in the mix.

 

Check this out:

 

Solid ! I can get behind this.

 

They wrote a whole album of covers to show their influences. It’s pretty cool.

 

Also, they did a great job on the Cemetery Gates cover. I always found that song to be tough and rough to cover because of Phil's vocals are insanely high.

 

So, I'm going through the covers album and I approve of this Blackened cover ! I also approve of the Queen cover as well.

 

The funniest thing about this is I get in my car and Condemned to the Gallows is playing and the band is hosting XM Radio station Liquid Metal!

 

Holy shit a Blind Melon cover !