Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Moody, Retro, Rocking - this album has everything, August 15, 2004
Well, it seems that one-man bands are becoming very popular. You can't turn a corner without seeing bands like 30 Seconds to Mars, Custom, Dashboard Confessional and Pete Yorn, all of whom are pretty much led by one person. So yes, they are becoming very popular.
And it's a good thing too, because they're pretty damn good.
Abandoned Pools is no exception. This band, fronted by Tommy Walter, came off originally (to me) as a mix between Stabbing Westward and Sister Hazel. This was mostly based on their first single, "The Remedy", a nice blend of above-par pop rock and certain harder, moodier elements. But then as I dug deeper into the band, I realized that there are many layers to their sound, many of which can be overlooked in "The Remedy". One realizes this as (s)he passes through the opening track into songs like "Start Over" and "Suburbian Muse". Both of these songs have a serene sound, one that projects a certain pleasantry within the listener, but at the same time reminding him that all is not well. This is a sound not heard frequently in the modern rock scene.
In the midst of the Retro turmoil that has been injecting itself into the rock scene (White Stripes, Strokes, Vines, etc.), these guys bring in a sound that seems to be more derivative than original. In other words, they seem to be a composition of elements and genres, rather than an explicitly "new" sound. Despite this, they succeed in my book. I will attribute this mainly to the sound itself, without ignoring the range these songs encompass. The two said songs (along with "Sunny Day") are pleasant, soft, and almost cute. On the complete other side, songs like "Monster" and "Mercy Kiss" will find you chasing the band as they romp through angst-laden riffs, never letting down. At the end of the day, I will call them a mix between Athenaeum and Incubus.
|
|
|
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I dont give 5 stars liberally., June 4, 2002
Abandoned Pools' Humanistic is a supurb rock debut. Fans of Vast, Dave Navarro, Sunna, and A Perfect Circle will find alot to like here. Former Eels bassist Tommy Walter has outdone himself lyricaly, vocally and instrumentally. While comparisons to the Smashing Pumpkins abound, and indeed there is justification for it, vocally Walter couldn't sound any MORE differnt from Billy Corgan. If your desperate for vocal comparisons one might say he sounds like Jon Crosby of Vast and less often, but sometimes like Richard Patricks'(Filter) more melodic moments. Musically, Abandoned Pools are comprable to a less industrial and more straight forward rock version of Nine Inch Nails or Filter(their 2nd record anyway). There is no goth/industrial overtones to be found on Humanistic. Just mild industrial undertones. Despite the use of a keyboard & synthesizers you would be VERY hard pressed to compare Abandoned Pools to Deadsy,Orgy or Godhead. Abandoned Pools are as differnt from(and better than) those bands, as Tool is from Britney Spears...which leads us to lryical content. Tommy Walter's song writting style can be compared to the dynamic of Maynard Keenan or Trent Reznor. A varitable mastermind. This cd would be at home in anyones collection (unless of course, u only listen to rap, country, pop, or blistering death metal). If you like driving hard rock and the occasional mellow song <with several songs landing between the two extremes> this is your disk. Stand out tracks include but are not limited to the current single "The Remedy", the very well done ballad "Start Over", "Monster" a near perfect hard rock track, and the dark and haunting but beautiful "Flourescein".
|
|
|
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Blowing the "Monster" down, May 21, 2002
--"Everyone's a rockstar/look how cool and dark you are"--"Monster"
Too often in today's music scene audiences and album buyers are force fed empty music. Everyone has a gimmick nowdays and I, amongst others, am sick of being underminded and expected to fall in line and buy into this numbing music they continue to throw my way. Enter Tommy Walter's (formerly of "The Eels") project, "Abandoned Pools." Every word, harmony, chord, etc on "Humanistic" rings truth. This album is filled with tracks of every lyrical and musical mood, providing a fresh breath from albums that take one subject and style and go with it simply because it "works". Starting with the catchy, electro pop tune "The Remedy" and ending with the introspective "Fluorescein" which leaves the listener, themselves, filled with frantic emotion that calminates with a sense of peace and hope. Inbetween lies songs of letting go ("Mercy Kiss") and new beginnings ("Start Over") and the melodramatic, break of a relationship track "Never" is the perfect lead right into the self-indulgent "Seed." The intelligent, insightful "Monster", is the perfect representation of what I take from the musical experience this album provides: Breaking free and overcoming all that ties you down. We all go through many moods along our journey and it's great to have music to relate, feel, and help us endure and enjoy along the way.
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
Interact With Your Music: Discover, listen to, and buy new music, all from the pages of SPIN's digital edition, free to Amazon customers.
~ Abandoned Pools
~ Abandoned Pools
DVD ~ Will Forte
~ Chevelle
~ Smashing Pumpkins
by Abandoned Pools 
