| For being around over a decade, it's kind of surprising that Apple of Discord aren't
that well known after all of these years. I mean I'm pretty familiar with underground
Indie-rock bands and I've never heard their name anywhere before. I'm not the biggest
fan of the genre, but I still recognize names pretty well and for this record to actually
hold my interest for more than 2 listens, is a real amazement. Indie is a genre I find
myself bored with at an exponential rate as I check out more and more bands that make
themselves at home with this style. I'd be making a horrendous understatement by saying
I'm a little bit biased to catchy hooks and simple melodies.
In "You're Not the Answer" Apple of Discord combine the best of both worlds to make an
obsessively catchy album mixed with the creativity derived from a full-fledged indie
powerhouse. As the press sheet noted, Apple of Discord ride the coat tails of Deathcab.
With a comparison like that, you really can't expect anything but a fun album and that's
exactly what Engineer/Azteca Records are offering with this effort. It's not obscenely filled
with the sounds of an offbeat kid crying into a microphone nor is it as random as a 40 year
old with a handle-bar moustache telling folk tales while strumming a first act guitar. It's
just a mild amalgamation of a down to earth rock band combining catchy with cozy like it's
nobody's business.
With tracks such as "Do You Remember the Eclipse," and "You're A Magic Lamp That's Out of Wishes
and Out of Love" holding up as the album's greatest mix of pop punk and indie, it's natural
that one would feel most comfortable with tracks like these. But the splendor doesn't stop with
the band's catchiness. Many other tracks combine neat jazzy riffing in a true indie-rock template
for any of those obsessive followers out there. Is it the most exciting album I've ever heard?
Absolutely not, but with the genre taken into consideration and my lack of love for it's type,
it must be a charm if its held my attention this long.
~ Drew
February 22 2007 |
