| The
creators of the Songs From A Scene compilation did a few things notably well.
First, their selection of artists make for an excellent album. Too often compilation
albums consist of bands that are so similar as to be almost indistinguishable. Worse yet
are the compilations that show no discretion on the part of the album's producer. In this
later case each track recklessly throws the listener from one extreme of volume, sound and
emotion to another. The artists featured on Songs From A Scene, while each
possessing distinctive characteristics, maintain a similar feel and energy level. All the
artists could loosely be classified as alternative rock. In fact any of them could easy
fit into the format of most alt.rock radio stations, nestled between the latest from
Nickelback and Lit.
The second gold star for the team behind this
compilation is for the inclusion of two tracks for each artist. Too often I have purchased
an album by an artist based on a track of theirs from a compilation. Often when I brought
the full album home I quickly discovered that the compilation track was some sort of
musical anomaly compared to the remaining tracks on the album.
The third thing this compilation accomplishes
very well is its use of multi-media. Consisting of a simple bio, contact information, and
press photo for each artists, the multimedia portion of this CD doesn't weigh the listener
down with needless information, but provides a nice jumping off point to further
investigate each artist.
One band that I will be sure to research further
is Close Enough. The hardest of the bands on this compilation, they combine catchy
melodies with the very aggressive drumming style of many hard-core punk bands. Brining to
mind early Pennywise and later Descendants, their first tract "Never Forget" is
a giant ball of energy.
My other favorite track is "Cell Phone
#" from The Pain White T’s. It is a sign of the times that a band like this is
no longer ashamed to own, and even sing about, cell phones; devices once relegated to the
upscale crowd that bands usually wished to distance themselves from. The Plain White
T’s are perhaps the poppiest of the group, taking notes from eighties college
pop-rock bands such as Squeeze to produce very infectious melodies. This song should come
with a sticker warning all listeners that they will find themselves humming the chorus for
days on end.
While these two bands represent the outer edges
of the type of sounds represented on Songs From a Scene, neither is at all out of
place in an album that represents some of the most promising and marketable bands in
Chicago. If Chicago's current music scene does have a definable "sound,"
this compilation is a good place to begin to flush out what all that sound encompasses.
More ChicagoGigs.com Reviews
Chicago Music Discussion Board
|
