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Elly Roberts reviews
Parlophone
- Cat.no: 3541442
- Released: January 2006
- Rating: 2/10
Most American riff-rockers go over my head, like pseudo-punksters Green Day. Yellowcard now join the club.
Most of Lights And Sounds is a cacophony of American OTT unforgettablerock-riffs. The collective, Ryan Key, Sean Mackin, Peter Mosely, LongineuParsons 111 and Ryan Mendez deliver an immature collection of overwhelming’noisy’ tracks that lack sophistication and class. Time will tell if thecombo has the legs for the long run: my gut feeling is, they’ll vanishpretty soon. There’s plenty out there failing.
Introductory instrumental Three Flights Up flatters to deceive the remainingcontent.
There are odd flashes of dynamic experimentation e.g Martin Sheen Or JFK andthe lightweight Two Weeks From Twenty, a nice and unexpected respite fromthe decibels.
In many areas it’s lacking any kind of ‘musical soul’: when it happens it’sembracing and welcome, otherwise purgatory and pointless.
Any kind of instrumental feeling is far too brief, like the violin on SpaceTravel, which should have developed greater exploration.
Potential singles are at a premium: they’ll have to ride the album’s horseuntil they fall off, though closer, the throbbing Holly Wood Died might makethe cut in the UK. How I Go, the best track, has some great dueting/backupby talented songbird Natalie Maines, with equally impressive stringarrangements by Mackin. This is their direction for future success.
And that’s it. A perplexing mix.
Weblink:Yellowcard Rock.com /Capitol Records.com/Yellowcard
The full list of tracks included are :
1. Three Flights Up
2. Light And Sounds
3. Down On My Head
4. Sure Thing Falling
5. City Of Devils
6. Rough Landing , Holly
7. Two Weeks From Twenty
8. Waiting Game
9. Martin Sheen Or JFK
10. Space Travel
11. Grey
12. Words, Hands, Hearts
13. How I Go
14. Holly Wood Died
Elly Roberts passed away in 2011, but he was a man who was so passionate about all types of music and loved meeting his musical heroes, such as Mick Hucknall at a book signing at the Trafford Centre, Manchester in 2007.
A former teacher and also a music journalist, DJ and radio presenter on local community station Calon FM, plus appearances on BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru and BBC Radio 2, Elly started doing reviews for DVDfever.co.uk in 2004 and he did the majority of the CD and concerts reviews on the website.
I know also that he loved getting away for the summer to Spain and I hope that wherever he is now he is enjoying the hot sunshine and, as one of his friends has said on his Facebook page, that he is interviewing his musical heroes.