Customer Reviews

New Morning

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

So I've given the album a once over. The reference was Fray and Snow Patrol, which got my interest. I hear a similarity to Coldplay and also David Gray, which I hadn't noted before.

I really like New Morning. It sounds a little like Coldplay. Maybe because of the falsetto singing and the strings.

Phoenix Burn seems a little like Coldplay. The piano and driving rhythm? Also, it progresses/regresses to some falsetto.

White Fences has a U2 guitar start.

Overall, I like the lyrics and music. I figured for $3.99 I couldn't go wrong. It seems like a good, energetic album that I'll be listening to for awhile. It also looks like they are a very good live band. I'm not sure when they are coming to the Bay Area, but I'd be excited to see them.

Unless Opeth come out with an album...this is prolly the best music Im gonna hear this year....an awesome way to start a musical year :) .....I loved all the songs. My favs would be : White Fences, New morning, Goodbye from start, Perfect Love, Phoenix Burns...well really all of the songs are amazing. I can see the album being on the radio and getting a couple of #1 songs...Also a killer live band.....every time its a blast....

Alpha Rev is a strong band with a solid sound. The group has good musical connections between the members and they look very natural together. The sound they produce is highly layered and richly textured. I love the use of the violin and cello as these slicing movements cutting across the fluid body of the piano and Casey McPherson's haunting buy mesmerizing voice. He has some echos of John Ondrasik's timber. The style of the band is in line with Keene's story telling type of music.
I look forward watching them as they put out more albums.

Casey McPherson and Alpha Rev make powerful music. This album is an inspiration. The only thing better than their recordings is seeing them live. They are America's Coldplay, and then some.

Overall: Listen-ability 5/5, Original Style 2/5, Original Lyrics 2/5

Impressionist of: Coldplay, The Wallflowers (in parts), a bunch of alternative rock bands, etc, etc...

Recommended buy: yes, despite the following...

Band Potential: I predict they will be quickly become popular and could slowly fade, maybe even after another album of similar unoriginality. BUT I'd love to hear this band flesh out their lyrics (discard the cliché words/phrases!) and reinvent their style of music so it fits them better (i.e. at times a couple of the songs act like they want to break out from the constraining mold of the spoon fed radio alternative style into a fresh rhythmic dance, but like a bastard child escaping the compound are quickly pulled back into the monotony of the mundane. They could do better is what I'm saying, and not all bands out there can do something better than the cr@p they are doing.) As far as I can tell there's a cello and/or violin in there somewhere...but sadly hidden it seems in style.

Boredom factor: most tracks could get boring quickly, think Coldplay and Snow Patrol on the radio. Over all good songs, but not great. Although throughout the album the message conveyed is a positive one - for that aspect alone I gave it 4/5 instead of 2/5.



Individual Tracks:

Alone with You - Simple, sweet, slightly haunting, cliché

Colder Months - Simple piano chords, verses have catchy rhymed lyrics, in light of painful family dynamics a good song, but...could be redone to something powerful.

White Fences - Deviates from the rest of album, more upbeat, use of guitar and electronics, overall a nice song for the good message, but a little boring.

New Morning - starts with guitar strumming and rapid successive almost forced lyrics, gets better in the second verse with the added harmony and etc. Vocals sound a little off when the melody goes high during the "new mor-n-i-n-g", almost like a lack of confidence in singing that high would make someone do.

Get Out - Personally like the use of the piano in this one, but still not anything to get excited about...demonstrated better vocal abilities on this track. Do really wish I had had this song to listen to during my parents' divorce and other such mind boggling times.

Heaven - Steady rhythm, more original lyrics than some of the other tracks. One of the better conceived songs on the album.

Phoenix Burn - Musically reminds me of lots of different mediocre bands, lyrics bland and predictable. What the song lacks in original use of words and sound, the excellent message of the song makes up for it however.

Face Down - "Tell the world, I love her.." Not awfully predictable like Phoenix Burn, either in words or sounds. Musically adds more interesting bass elements in some parts reminiscent of jazz/blues, along with a guitar solo that is sloppy somewhat like Jimi Hendrix's guitar solos, but w/out the flare. More thought provoking lyrics than most artists/bands now days can come up with though.

Goodbye from the Start - Simple piano and vocals, simple lyrics - age old questions of love lost. Funny but rather awesome little "drummer boy" lead in to the second verse and repeated later on. The chorus would've done better to mimic the the little drummer boy or play up on that element.

When Did I wake up - liked the idea, thoughts of the song, but a little too predictable as most of the songs.

Perfect Love - Off start, awkward presentation of lyrics, okay.


I think the problem with the band in both their music & vocals is that they're trying to be something they're not- I think they are better than this. It's as if they dumbed down or forced a more popular style into the music so it would sell.....not a bad album by any means, but one of those easy listening and easily forgotten albums. A couple of the songs could very well be big hits - I just hope this band is around in 3 or 4 yrs with some of that sound that peeked through at times on this album.

I won't repeat what everyone has said about the quality of this album (deluxe version though would be the one to get with the addition of ten songs). All I will say is that if you like Casey McPherson check out his work on the upcoming album 'Flying Colors' from the group of same title. This is a collaboration effort between Neal Morse, Steve Morse, Mike Portnoy and Dave LaRue, all great musicians in their own right. They add Casey and I can't wait to hear the result. Should be a five star outing to say the least. A video segment is currently on YouTube. Due out at the end of March 2012.

Alpha Rev is a nice combination of pop sensibility with rock style. A little bit of Matt Kearney's City of Black and White, a little bit of Christian Floyd's Dreams Into Daylight, Alpha Rev blends a mixture of sonic influences to create a sound of their very own. Excellent offering!

I have liked this band from the first time I heard them. So the arrival of New Morning couldn't have come too soon. Some of the criticisms in other reviews may have some merit (cliche lyrics, similar sound to other bands). But this album still has the unique Alpha Rev sound that is engaging and passionate.

There's plenty of variety on this album instrumentally as well as song arrangement. From heavy guitar riffs to a cello solo, this one doesn't disappoint. I won't go through all the songs, but will simply recommend this one to you.

I agree that this band would be even better on album if they weren't 'handled' by Hollywood Records. I'm looking forward to seeing them live and would love to find alternate arrangements of their material. A great album!

To be honest, I don't think this was the best of their albums...I still think this album deserves a lot of recognition but I feel this album did not use their two strongest assets in which breaks them apart from the other thousand bands.. Their Strings...I.e Cello and Violin. That is why they got 4 instead of 5 stars. With that said, this Band will defiantly entertain you live and this album is still worth purchasing. . If you have not heard their other songs...check out Fade In tomorrow....That was simply awesome

Alpha Rev's New Morning has quickly become my favorite CD. Its haunting, sparse melodies and soaring bridges and innovative lyrics have me captivated. I happened to catch a video for the title track on VH1 - the song along with the images almost brought me to tears. Standouts on the CD include New Morning, Phoenix Burn, Alone With You, Colder Months and Goodbye From The Start. Just beautiful. Buy this, and you won't be disappointed.