The American Scene - By Way Of Introduction
Record Label: Pure Noise Records
Release Date: March 2011
Bands like The American Scene need more recognition. They are The Dangerous Summer and The Forecast wrapped up in a nice little package for you. On their debut EP on Pure Noise Records, the California-based quintet gives us a West Coast alt rock trip that will be easy listens for those that appreciate pure rock n' roll. By Way of Introduction shows the potential for a band that with the right steps could be one of the next crossover acts and emerge from the over-saturated scene.
Immediately, you notice vocalist Matthew Vincent draws startling similarities to that of AJ Perdomo from The Dangerous Summer. It's such a soothing tone for the listener because it's got a refreshing sound because you can hear the emotion pour out in every word. Call me a sucker for this, but I really love crunchy guitars that have this sort of clean and high frequency effect like The Gaslight Anthem on The '59 Sound or The Dangerous Summer on Reach For The Sun.
After you get through the short intro, you're thrust into "Did You Hear About Your Friends In CA?" This isn't your normal lead-off track to an album, it's a mid-tempo rocker that's meant to be played to thousands of people instead of small clubs. There is more of the same throughout the entire record, and it doesn't disappoint.
My favorite track on the record is "Killed Off In The Second Act." For some reason, this song has it. It just feels good when you listen to it. It's the inexplicable sensation you get inside when you hear a song for the first time and you get the warm fuzzy feeling. Everything is lined up in perfect harmony. The drums complement the guitars and it instantly gets stuck in your head.
The one problem with this album is that it never picks up. Most of the songs blend together and sound repetitive. Not that it's the biggest flaw, it's just that after awhile you feel like you've heard the song a couple of times before.
The American Scene show a lot of promise and they give hope that rock n' roll isn't dead. Maybe in the future I'd like to see them push their boundaries a little bit and add some piano and auxiliary percussion to give it just a little extra touch that could go a long way. I hope to see The American Scene fall into the crowd of The Dangerous Summer, The Graduate, and more in years to come.
saw these guys a few months ago at a house show with handguns & forever came calling and got their demo with a few of these songs. it was ok, but i just picked up this record and it really made an impression on me. definitely worth checking out if you're into the RIYL's
If you like these guys, do yourself a favor and check out Streetlight Fire. Both The American Scene and Streetlight have been my top two favorite new bands this year.
If you like these guys, do yourself a favor and check out Streetlight Fire. Both The American Scene and Streetlight have been my top two favorite new bands this year.
Sounds like you need to Northern CA, Ryan! We play with each other a ton ha
saw these guys a few months ago at a house show with handguns & forever came calling and got their demo with a few of these songs. it was ok, but i just picked up this record and it really made an impression on me. definitely worth checking out if you're into the RIYL's
Saw these guys last year in a garage with The Wonder Years & Man Overboard. They gave me their CD for free afterwards. It was also called "By Way of Introduction...", but had a different tracklist. Nice guys. Their bassist knocked into me running up to the stage when The Wonder Years started playing.
haha it was very very last minute, other than the bands there were probably 30 people there in total and the cops came 2 songs into FCC's set and shut it down (they headlined). but it was still a good time
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