Customer Reviews

We Can Breathe Under Alcohol

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

 

 

I recently saw An Angle, and it was close to amazing. They didn't really play too much off this album, and when I asked them later I was told that most of what they had played was on their new ep. They did, however, play my favorite songs from this album. Green Water, A Way With Words, True Love, and Change the World. I have listened to this album almost non-stop since buying it and I don't really see that ending any time soon. It's really funny to me, seeing all the negative things people have posted online about An Angle. It really makes me wonder how many of these people have actually listened to this band. I understand the similarities to Bright Eyes, but come on, it is very obvious that they are different bands. I think people should stop paying so much attention to message boards and form their own opinions on what they like and dislike. This band is great, and I can't wait to see them again.

ok, i'm going to try to be fair. the album isn't really bad. is it worth your money? i wouldn't dish out any clams, but give it a listen. it's fairly well crafted pop music. like belle & sebastian and oh, i don't know, maybe BRIGHT EYES, it's simple song structures. nothing horribly fancy, but definately an improvement from their debut. maybe i think so because i don't particularly care for "fevers and mirrors" which their last album mimicks, and this album is more like more recent bright eyes (because this is their most recent album. i see a pattern), which i do care for. but let's get this out of the way. do we really hate the band, or the people in the band? or do we hate the record company that obviously went out of their way to find a band to market as another bright eyes? maybe the band is telling the truth. they did diss bright eyes and say that they had similar influences (probably a cover up, but don't cancel it out), and we wouldn't know them if it wasn't for that particular record company. also, conor might have ripped off david dondero, but he's done a lot more experimenting also. conor's heroes (dondero, simon joyner, etc.) have consistantly written folk music, while conor has done so much more. his vocals are a definate rip off (he told the audience at a brighte eyes/dondero show i was at a couple weeks ago), but his style isn't especially similar. not saying he's origional (i'm telling you, he's not), but he's best known for his songwriting skills and his sound incorporates much more than just david dondero (bob dylan, daniel johnston, etc.). if you're an oberst fan, check out willy mason if you haven't already (you probably have). he's, in my opinion, a much better musician than conor was at his age.

First off, let me say, this is a great CD. It is worth your money. An Angle is a great band.
Now...So, ok, ive been a huge Bright Eyes fan for years now. love Conors work. and i must say, when i first heard An Angle, i was pissed off. i though, this has got to be a joke... it sounds so much like Conor and Bright Eyes. what a rip off.. Those thoughts went on for a while.. untill i gave An Angle a chance. once i did, i found that there music, though a lot sounding like Bright Eyes, is amazing. great songs, lyrics, emotion. really, a great band.
There first CD, i will admit had a lot or Brigth Eyes rip-offs.. its true and clear.. but its still a great CD and i would buy it if i were you.
This CD is less like Bright Eyes and more like... well, An Angle. it really is amazing. Great song structure, vocals, and diversity in songs /instrements.
Also, pick up there new 5 track EP. It is amazing. Really.

all in all, BUY THIS CD. YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT IF YOU ARE OPEN MINDED AND GIVE BANDS A CHANCE.

obviously, an angle sounds exactly like bright eyes in many respects. but, the truth of the matter is that this album is much more like a streamlined discover america. maybe i should just say that... this album is good. i don't listen to bright eyes much, because i don't connect with the music as a whole. but somehow, i really like this album. i have no clue about it except that i really dig it. listen if you like bright eyes, discover america, or the more mellow twothirtyeight stuff. end.

You know when an amazing underground genre and its scene gets some attention? and then a few great bands are thrust into the spotlight? And then of course afterwards the hordes of cheap imitators come and ruin it. It happened with glam, grunge, and screamo among others, this band is a perfect example of this problem and the only way to solve it and save the genre is to stay as far away from this wanabe Sh**t as possible. Seriously the bulk of the people who listen to this loser only do because they want to have a laugh at how much he sounds like Bright Eyes, don't buy into this crap if you want funny music buy music that is made to be funny not this pathetic rip off.

First of all, this album mirrors Bright Eyes in so many ways, it's almost ridiculous. He sings about photographs, NBC, drinking. Bright Eyes song Old Soul Song is all about developing a photograph. Let's Not Sh** Ourselves has Conor yelling about NBC, ABC, and CBS (two of which An Angle has in Change The World) and Bright Eyes sings about drinking in about 1/4 of his songs. Also, Kris has mastered the Bright Eyes singing style. This is not a negative thing, it's just very similar.

But as for the album itself, minding the bright eyes comparision, it is about 3 miles away from a masterpiece. That being said, at least it's on the road to a masterpiece, albeit far far away. Songs like True Love and A Way With Words are fantastic and shine on the album. Songs like White Horses and Green Water have an strong energy and really keep you interested in what else Kris has to offer. But too many songs just leave the listener bored and asking "when is he going to stop singing about getting drunk?" Songs like Born in a Bottle and Angry Drunk are pretentiously long and lyrically boring. Going back to Bright Eyes, the only reason that songs like The Big Picture work is because the lyrics are so brilliant. Kris doesn't have this lyrical ability yet.

However, I am excited about the future of An Angle. I think in the next coming years if Kris can mature a little, both musically and lyrically, he'll make an album that's brilliant. An album like Bright Eyes' "I'm Wide Awake It's Morning" (which I believe is his best). Maybe he should just lay off the drinking.

So alright, some hack like me telling you this album sucks isn't gonna prove it right? Well go just about anywhere on the net, (punknews.org for example), find user comments about An Angle and you will see too that everyone agrees this band sucks pretty bad. I was unfortunate enough to see their live show and I must say it is worse than the record. Everyone that plays in the band seems to be acting way cooler than they really are. Bright Eyes rip off? Hell Yes! But even with that aside, this is really just pretentious crap, I mean... hell! Look at the record cover, you can tell they think they're way too cool! Don't waste your money kiddos! This cd is good for target practice, if you want to buy some funny music, go get a Wesley Willis or even a damn Weird Al CD or something!


Ryan

Everything about this band and this album is a rip off of Conor Oberst and Bright Eyes. The lead singer of An Angle tries to recreate Bright Eyes' music, replicated Conor's voice, his type of music, instrumentals, everything. Even the whole alcohol aspect is taken from Oberst. It's ridiculous. The only reason i listened to this band in the first place was because I read reviews about how similar it was to Bright Eyes. So, if you want a low quality attempted replication of Bright Eyes, listen to the band...but i suggest you save your time and just dont.

it is beyond me that a record label would put this out. it's so embarassing how bad he rips bright eyes from song structure, subject the production and even the cover art looks just like fevers and mirrors.

i couldn't help but notice all the dismay displayed in the reviews below about 'an angle' ripping off conor oberst (bright eyes). i'd just like to point out that conor originally ripped off a lesser known, less poster boy type, called DAVID DONDERO. he is an extraordinary & original talent who conor was (and probably still is) a big fan of. without conor's indie boy looks & style, david holds less potential for mass marketing, which is why he hasn't had conor's success. you should check him out, and remember he was doing his thing way before conor bounced on to the scene & was given credit for his originality & genius.