Alive In Wild Paint made me think of a bunch of halfnaked girls wrestling around in a tub filled with paint but that’s probably because I’m a sexist pig. But rather than a couple of scantily clad beauties, this is in fact one of the latest additions to the Equal Vision roster that brings together members of Goodbye Tomorrow and Terminal.
Now knowing that these guys are on Equal Vision and that Mark Trombino agreed to produce their debut full-length, I was expecting a loud and rocking yet catchy album with a twist of emo. Again I was way off, because what these guys deliver is pure poprock with a whole lot of emo. The music itself is good enough… it’s nicely layered, it meanders gently and sure, it’s all-around pleasant.
But can someone explain to me what’s wrong with that vocalist! I mean… wow! That guy makes Chris Carrabba sound like the toughest guy around. With a high-pitched monotonous voice the guy goes through the motions on the twelve tracks on “Ceilings” and had me pulling out what little hair I have by song number four (and no, I’m not bald, I just like to cut my hair real short).
So here’s my advice for vocalist Travis Bryant… get angry, get pissed off, go ballistic! Go stand in a traffic jam for two hours every day, find a psycho girlfriend and let her push you over the edge or get a friend to yell at you non-stop until you snap! I’m not saying you have to go all hardcore on our asses but a little bit more power would be nice.
