Customer Reviews

We Are But Human

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Ever We Fall has definately stumbled upon a middle ground between indie and mainstream 'radio friendly' pop rock.

Though, the number one thing that comes to mind is that these guys draw a strong likeness to that of Death Cab in its vocals, and Jimmy Eat World in its sound (from the Clarity/Static Prevails era). By combining the two elements and throwing in the polished production and mixing, you get 'We Are But Human', which has a pseudo-pop appeal that becomes completely demolished (for the better) when reaching the closing tracks of album.

I mean, let's not get ahead of ourselves here, this piece of work is nowhere near the scope of being a masterpiece, but it was impressive in its own right. A handful of tracks kept me listening all the way through, and evernmore so, the instrumentation at times simply blew me away. Unexpected transitions and twists, atmospheric solos...those were the things that kept me interested. As far as I'm concerned, Ever We Fall has the ability to make a perfect record, it seems as if this one is only starting to put the pieces together.

A couple track breakdowns:

04. No Sleep For Dreaming - Probably one of the best tracks of the entire album -- if not the best. After hearing the three previous songs, it was about time to shift into something more fast paced and semi-cinematic -- the lead guitarist takes you though each chorus with a smooth solo that's as fitting as it is necessary to immerse you into the flow of the sound.

06. G - Has great transitions from easy going verses to total drum assault during the choruses.

08. No Words To Describe - One of the slower songs that continually builds as it goes along, starting with vocals on top of light drums, and then progressing into more intricate guitars and atmospherics. Everything comes together powerfully in the chorus, and then settles back down again with a smooth break in the middle of the track. Equally melodic and emotional.

09. Great Day For An Airstrike - Another song that ties for best of the album. This song is by far the most original, with synth-like beats throughout the intro verse. The chorus completely twists into a complex riff sequence. Awesome vocals throughout.

12. Welcome To Fhloston Paradise - The closer that sounds like two completely different songs when hitting the halfway point. One final example of how the band unpredictably shifted their sound to their advantage. A fitting way to end the album.

this cd is the record label debut for several tallented musicians. i've had the pleasure of seeing these guys perform live on several ocassions and in several different bands. even if you arn't a fan of comercialy accessible pop-punk, i would reccomend everyone interested in the future of indie rock to get familiar with this band as four brilliant and inspiring individuals who were able to get together and get their music professionaly produced. there might not be another ever we fall cd, but this is most definitely only the begining for these artists.

Ever We Fall basically play commercial power-pop emo but it's more in line with the likes of Jimmy Eat World than any of the newer hair-combed-over-the-eye bands. They're driven more by harmonic chords and intricate melodic layering than any tortured emo posturing. They have an inate ability to write intricate dual-guitar parts that flow as one. The effect pedal generated echo often drowns out the rhythm and melody on this album, a problem which didn't show up on their old ep, Endura. On that ep you could tell they were feeling everything they were doing, here it seems like some of it is done just because it's what they think they're supposed to do. I'd be surprised if their producer or label hadn't given them a lot of (bad) advice about how the album should sound.

Despite the overproduction I'm still totally into this album for the first seven songs which do show a progression in their complex poppy songwriting.

After that the album kinda derails. Tracks 8, 9 and 10 might as well be one long track. Or even better, just removed from the cd entirely. I have nothing again soft or slow songs, but they don't seem to be something this band have a natural inclination for. They feel like contrived, juvenile attempts at making something epic, owing more to effect pedal usage than compositional ideas. Track 11 is a shorter rockier song, but deservedly buried in the barren back end of the album. The lead guitar melody is the only thing making it interesting, and even that is virtually ripped off of some Minus The Bear song. Welcome To Fholston Paradise is the only good song out of the last five. The effect pedal induced audio fog is still present, but it's less pervasive on the actual songwriting. I was seething with contempt for the band on those last four songs, but it completely dissipated as soon as that last song started. Welcome To Fholston Paradise is a really lovely song. The vocal harmonies on the outro are kinda weak though.

Don't get me wrong though, as disappointed as I am by the wasted potential I hear in this album, the first seven songs alone make it worth buying, and if you can pretend tracks 8-11 don't exist I'd rank this as one of the top 5 albums released so far in 2006.