David Melillo – Talk is Cheap
Drive Thru Records
Release Date: June 13, 2006 (Available now for free at MTVU)
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SCORE: {6/10}
Drive Thru Records, though not all that old, seems to be showing signs of age, continually failing to meet release dates, missing the glow of a real buzz band, and clearly passing the scene crown to new goldmines like Fueled By Ramen. Though still, it seems the Drive Thru credo holds one pledge above all others, that mission in which they are successful again and again. That mission: To launch the career of at least one outstanding pop-rock artist per year. Looking at the roster of past years, DTR has clearly invested effort in expanding their arsenal, yet the backbone and strongest leg of the label still rests with those artists who fuse the vocals of a heart on sleeve heartthrob, a buoyant array of major chords, a plush stream of “get this out of my head” melodies, lyrics to make your little sister quiver, and yes… there will be piano. Nothing screams earnest, pubescent emotion like piano!
Clearly, what I’m building towards is that David Melillo is Drive Thru’s leading man this year, and they're literally giving away his music to prove it. Here, on his debut EP he taps into several of the major facets of charming pop-rock, and in doing so makes a quaint, although notable, first impression. “Sam’s Song” recalls the feel of The Starting Line’s Make Yourself at Home EP and serves as an immediate vehicle for Melillo to melt you with the allure of his voice, which cracks with innocence and pushes forth his lyrics with a most sincere intonation. “Vatican Roulette,” “Knights of the Island Counter,” and “Morris Country Blues,” go on to display Dave’s plugged in, and on “Vatican Roulette”, synthesized side, which also evokes shades of TSL, Motion City Soundtrack, and for me, bears a striking similarity to early Halifax, if anybody can remember, or even listened to Start Back at Start.
David Melillo is an excellent pop song craftsman and at his softest “This is 2005” emphasizes just how irresistible this guy can be. With the boyish hopefulness of The Rocket Summer’s Bryce Avery, and the piano keys to back him up, Melillo pours out a muted ode to high school memories, and getting out of small towns. To say we’ve heard this all before would be an understatement; frankly, you’d be hard pressed to argue that there is an ounce of originality on this EP. However, Melillo’s first major work sounds confident and full enough to guarantee a healthy output of very formidable pop-rock winners, drawing upon the variety of nuances that the genre affords. You've heard it a million times before, and you’ll hear it a billion times more, but at least this is worth hearing... specifically if you've still got the high school blues.
the comparison with start back at start is dead on. this ep isn't bad, but it gets old fast.
Thats unfortunate. For how bad Halifax gets made of for being generic now, Start Back at Start was the eptiome of generic. It was enjoyable, but it gets old fast.
So was the other review just to convince Dave to do an interview with AP, and then trash the album a minute after the interview??????
I dont understand AP...dont get me wrong I agree with some of the things you say on your review but why do you have to have different reviews of the same album??? And why only do it for some of the albums and not all of them???/
So was the other review just to convince Dave to do an interview with AP, and then trash the album a minute after the interview??????
I dont understand AP...dont get me wrong I agree with some of the things you say on your review but why do you have to have different reviews of the same album??? And why only do it for some of the albums and not all of them???/
It's quite simple actually, the fact is I didn't even know Tony had reviewed it already until late last night.
I don't think Dave said, "hey, write me a good review and i'll do an interview." We work with whoever wants to work with us, and our reviews say what we feel.
It's quite simple actually, the fact is I didn't even know Tony had reviewed it already until late last night.
I don't think Dave said, "hey, write me a good review and i'll do an interview." We work with whoever wants to work with us, and our reviews say what we feel.
Further information: Drive Thru did not even know that review #1 was on the site when they offerred the interview with Dave.
The Only Thing I Dont Like is that it is an ep.. this guy is very good...sometimes reminding me of Jamison Covington (JamisonParker)... if more song would be listenig to it everyday... But best song is Knights of the Island Counter..
BBTB, Chiodos, August Burns Red, #12 looks like u
May 23
So was the other review just to convince Dave to do an interview with AP, and then trash the album a minute after the interview??????
I dont understand AP...dont get me wrong I agree with some of the things you say on your review but why do you have to have different reviews of the same album??? And why only do it for some of the albums and not all of them???/
And just a 3rd note... if you consider this review trashing Dave Melillo, then you should try reading it.
"Trashing" it was an overstatement, I apologize... like I said before, I agree with the review i just didnt understand why you(AP) had to write two different reviews for the same album, thanks for explaining it though...
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