Customer Reviews

Broadcasting...

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Very surprising turnaround for this band. I loved Scott Wade's vocals, but I never thought that this band could replace him with better vocals, more interesting post hardcore elements, and still keep that fast paced classic hardcore sound. Excellent CD. Every bit as good as Wake The Dead, and definitely not a repeat. Listeners who don't know that Scott left probably won't notice a difference, which is amazing. The new guy (former guitarist) actually sounds remarkably like Scott, but with more range and variety.

The vocalist change-up is probably the single most important progression for Comeback Kid. My biggest gripe about these guys was Scott Wade's terrible monotone crow-like vocals. With Andrew now on the mic, the vocals are very dynamic, from screams, yells, and not-whiny clean singing. This guy is a very talented vocalist (in addition to song writer). In the past he has written and recorded all the songs. This album sounds like he gave a little more creative power to the other band members (which isn't such a great thing). Musically, this definitely is a slight regression from Wake The Dead (which had an awesome Skate Punk musical feel). The song structures are more interesting with some experimental feel, reaching into more broad territory than in their past. The setback is the speed has dropped considerably (less than half of the album is fast), replaced with a majority of mid-tempo hymns, and dabbling with emo passages. All the fast songs slow down about 30% into the song and have the same slow outro. Wake The Dead was one of the few totally amazing Blasting Room sounds (with an amazing bass sound). Broadcasting has the typical flat Blasting Room sound (which sounds like a glorified garage Pro-Tools studio), with dull felty kick drum, and low-gain, low-volume guitar, and terrible P-Bass sound (after a ripping bass sound on Wake The Dead). So in some ways, this is a milestone better, and in other aspects its a step-down. Either way, I'd recommend buying this record. The track order starts with two relatively mellow songs, before exploding the energy. And to me, track flow really affects the feel of the album. So I recommend only listening to this on random mix. Highlight tracks are Give'r, In Case of Fire, and In/Tuition (which is a really strong snappy closing song). If the tone were nearly as biting and thick as Wake The Dead, and the ratio of fast to slower songs was greater, this could have been 5 stars.

When I heard the news Scott Wade was leaving Comeback Kid because he felt he was holding back the band, I- along with many CBK fans- were surprised and disappointed. I was sure if they put out another album it would never be the same as the outstanding albums Turn It Around and Wake The Dead. It turned out I was right. Broadcasting is different than Turn It Around and Wake The Dead... it's phenomenal.

Scott Wade might have had a point when he felt he was holding back the band because Andrew Neufield has better range as a vocalist and his lyrics are very, very well-written, although they're much darker and often times read like something Wes Eisold could've written if Give Up The Ghost was still active.

CBK's instrumentals have always been excellent and they step it up even further on Broadcasting. They do tend to use very similar breakdowns at times; that's the only knock I can think of on this album, and even then it's not much of a knock because the breakdowns never seem repetitive.

Perhaps the most impressive piece of Broadcasting is the production. CBK worked in the Blasting Room with Bill Stevenson for this album (just like they did for Wake The Dead) and it shows.

Overall, this is one of the best hardcore releases in recent years. Old-school hardcore will live on forever as long as these guys are playing music. 5 stars out of 5.

Comeback Kid has held a special place in my heart for several years. A band who has been good to my local hardcore scene, CBK was known for consistently solid performances and equally solid albums. I use the past tense because "Broadcasting" was one of the biggest disappointments of 2007. The first post Scott album from CBK lacks the urgency and depth of Turn it Around and Wake the Dead. While not terrible, the album sounds like it was made to appeal to an MTV crowd. More polished, and hardly engaging. If you've never heard CBK, do not get this album. Pick up Turn It Around. I have a feeling that this album will go down as either the last listen-able CBK album, or a decided flop in the band's career that will be relegated to the status of the favorite of a small pocket of fans.

I absolutely love the first part of this album. The first four tracks are really, really great. But after that the album just gets kind of boring. So if you can get this album for like under $6, it's totally worth it I'd say!

As some people have already said, this album is better in some ways and not as good in other ways as Wake the Dead. It has become one of my all-time favorites, though, which means a lot coming from me, as I'm a critical musician myself!

Musicianship is better all around on this album. These songs are loaded with time changes and complex rhythms, but all the parts flow smoothly and never sound out of place or overbearing. They put feeling in their breakdowns well, without losing technicality. Andrew's vocals are much more dynamic, yet are similar enough to Scott's that this album still has that distinct CBK sound we all love.

Drums and bass aren't mixed quite as well, but I think guitars and vocals are mixed better.

The emotion comes through a lot more on this album, without sounding "emo". It's just a great album. You should buy it if you appreciate high-energy music that doesn't sound like everybody else.

The production is on par with a lot of other stuff going on, but if you're looking for something as engaging as the first two albums, especially Wake the Dead, don't expect it from Broadcasting. Scott Wade defined the front-end sound of Comeback Kid, and, while sometimes bands can move forward after changing singers, I believe Comeback Kid just moved in a different direction. Not altogether bad, but not the earlier Comeback Kid.

COMEBACK KID'S LAST TWO ALBUMS WERE FILLED WITH GREAT HOOKS, CATCHY SING-A-LONGS AND SOME PRETTY GOOD BREAKDOWNS. THESE QUALITIES HELPED SET THEM APART FROM A MUCH OVER-LOADED GENRE. SO WHAT HAPPENED? FOR ONE, THE LOSS OF THIER ORIGINAL SINGER REALLY HURT THEM BECAUSE FOUNDING MEMBER ANDREW NEUFELD(ORIGINALLY A GUITARIST) HAS A WEAK DELIVERY. SECONDLY THE HOOKS AND SING-A-LONGS ARE JUST PLAIN BLAND. LAST BUT NOT LEAST THE MUSIC IS FAIRLY UNINTERESTING AND SOUNDS LIKE A THOUSAND OTHER "OLD SCHOOL MELODIC HARDCORE" BANDS THAT CLOG UP THE SCENE. THE ONLY REASON I GIVE IT TWO STARS INSTEAD OF ONE IS THE PRODUCTION FROM JASON LIVERMORE AND BILL STEVENSON IS STELLAR (AS USUAL}. DISSAPOINTING TO SAY THE LEAST!