Customer Reviews

The Anniversary/ Superdrag

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4 star:		(2)
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2 star:		(1)
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Both The Anniversary and Superdrag take about-faces on this split as they revert to 60s pop with a modern tinge. The Anniversary, a band who reverted from the sound of their debut album to a 60s psychadelic vibe, present themselves with a strong batch of songs that are a good prelude to their astounding second release, Your Majesty. Superdrag, primarily known for their hit song "Sucked Out" off their debut, show a fantastic evolution as a band through this split.

However, the songs by The Anniversary are really the stand out tracks on the album. Instead of moving into the new fields of emo (Thursday) and feeling the influence of a larger emo band looming behind them (Get Up Kids), The Anniversary have seemingly rejected the genre and learned to write great music that doesn't cater to the contemporary pop scene but harks back to an older era. "Anais" rings as a brit-pop influenced jangle that is engaging and beautiful, while the real stellar track, "Up in the Sky", harks back to Lennon at his exotic peak. In short, the songs by the Anniversary are spectacular and can be the sole reason for buying this album.

Superdrag doesn't disappoint but remains more of a contemporary pop band. Regardless, their songs are catchy with great hooks. "Take Your Spectre Away" is an engaging, emotive pop song that draws the listener in with jangle rock powers. "The Emotional Kind" is a pure pop song, while "I guess it's American" is the stud track, punky and poppy that resonates it's lyrics throughout the song.

As a nice breath of new music, definitely check out this LP. It'll be worth it's price in no time as the quality of the music far outweighs the quantity of songs. Pick it up as soon as you get the chance.

Well, I'm not sure what to say about this CD. lets start out with the anniversary: Pretty good. it wasnt what i expected them to be like. Their three songs are nothing like designing a nervous breakdown, but instead they take a total rock and roll turn. I really like 1 and 3, but 2 isnt that great. Superdrag: awesome! they have some serious rock on here. i havent heard any of their other cds other that who sucked out the feeling song. But all 3 songs are great on this. It isnt my favorite cd, but it still is pretty frikin good

Being a huge fan of the Anniversary's "Designing a Nervous Breakdown," I was initially put off by their songs on this split because of the drastic change in style. Having given the songs some time and a chance to prove themselves, they mostly seem to prove that their authors want to be John Lennon. "Anais" rings awfully close to "I'm Only Sleeping" by the Beatles, and "Up In the Sky" similarly reeks of Lennon influence (not that there's anything wrong w/him or the Beatles). Granted, these are enjoyable enough songs (which is the point of music anyway, right?), but it feels a bit like "let's play dress-up" or a caricature. Also, I feel the Anniversary did a better job crafting songs with this style on "Your Majesty."

The Superdrag songs are listenable enough, but I bought this for the Anniversary tracks.

Man not saying that this was an impulse buy would be a sort of lie, cause I really see no instance in which a split cd would become your staple in your listening diet, but man I was hungry for some more Anni songs at that moment... so can you blame me. Anyways I bought this cd about three years ago and to be honest, I've only listened to it oh twice or three times, yeah I know but I think it was used or it was something I bought at Subterranian's going out of business sell (oh how great the Sub was, not as good as Plan 9 though I'll tell ya). Anyways... ehem... yeah this is a pretty decent record I'll guess, I think me and my buddy once vibed to this on a late trip to SLC, yeah I guess we did vibe to it quite well (man was that a great lil' road excurision, man I miss ya Matt!). I just can't put my finger on it, this is just not a very exciting cd, I do like the Superdrag songs, they are great stuff man. Ummmm... next?

This release certainly suprised me. The Anniversary completely changed their style from powerful melody driven emo to unfocused 60's sounding stoner music. Although the songs were not that bad, they could not compare to tracks on "Designing a Nervous Breakdown." Gone were the intense, focused emo vocals and beautiful instumentation. In its placed was light, airy pop that lacked definition. The lyrics did not impress me either and left me wondering what they meant by them. Vagrant said "it will be considered a classic in no time", but by whom. I personally like progressive sounding emo instead of 60's influenced rock. However, i enjoyed the Superdrag songs. Superdrag penned thoughtful lyrics and played good, driving mainstream rock. Although only a trio, Superdrag uses their instruments to their potential to create varied songs with catchy hooks and great melodies. I would suggest listening to the MP3's before you decide to buy because it is not for everybody.