"Math sucks!" I say -- apparently it's no fun for 10 Years, either
Written: May 27 '08 (Updated May 27 '08)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Rare moments of the brilliance and creativity that once personified this band's sound
Cons: Deterioration of vocals and lyrics make this a less-than-lovely listen
The Bottom Line: 2.5 stars, but I round up because I hope this band will get it right next time.
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| blindsider's Full Review: Division by 10 Years |
It is difficult -- no, almost impossible -- for an album to completely blow me away upon the first listen. Alas, much to my surprise, Tennessee-based alternative rock band 10 Years accomplished that in 2005 with their major-label debut The Autumn Effect. I simply could not get enough of it. Still can't, actually. So it's easy to understand that my anticipation for Division was near impossible to cope with -- and just a couple weeks after the release, I am dealing with unfortunate feelings of indifference.
Indifferent to the music of a band that swept me away not long ago at all. What happened? The mystique is gone. The thickly metaphorical lyrics and admirable musical complexity of The Autumn Effect have been replaced with overly simplistic songs that bleed together. Only a few moments stand out here, and even those are generally nothing to make a spectacle over.
What I see here is a band running low on creativity. It's as if that magical ingredient that made 10 Years stand out from its radio-rock peers has all but died out, and that truly saddens me.
Call it a ritual "dumbing-down" that becomes obvious even a few seconds into opening track "Actions & Motives." Despite the clever usage of the popular saying "Oh, what tangled webs we weave / when we practice to deceive," this song comes off as whiny and as a complete Incubus ripoff. Given that I've got no love for Incubus and the three thousand bands that sound exactly like them, this song leaves me aching for the skip button.
Division's lead single "Beautiful" is a brooding semi-ballad with intentions to be a sarcastic poke at Hollywood culture, and while Jesse Hasek's grainy vocal performance passes, the song strikes me as emotionless and dry. At this point, listeners will really miss the refreshingly twisted lyricism of the album prior -- and while we're being fed lines like "Just as beautiful as you are / it's so pitiful what you are" over and over, it's no trying task to see why. The first acoustic strains of "Dying Youth" initially satisfy by throwing out teasers of all that is bleak, then all proceeds to go downhill after the first minute with Hasek's shrill voice working in all the wrong ways.
Thankfully, "Focus" and "All Your Lies" are alt-rock gems that sustain my attention through their use of slow, melodic build-ups and impossibly catchy hooks. "Focus" is below average from a lyrical viewpoint ("I can't focus when you're near me / do you notice me at all?") but Hasek's trembly tone is to die for. Full of feeling and much-needed vocal variation, "All Your Lies" effectively tackles the pain that deceit and excessive pride can cause. I'm especially fond of the way the guitars gain some unexpected crunch shortly after the song begins; think "Judith" by A Perfect Circle.
Division is by no means unlistenable, though it leaves so, so much to be desired to this fan. No longer do 10 Years seem so out of place within the crop of modern rock bands played on popular radio stations. In fact, it seems as if they are now catering to those stations via cheesy lyrics and distractingly uncomplicated music. It is difficult to conjure up a specific recommendation to all who are unfamiliar with 10 Years, but I will say only this: anyone who would like to see this band at its best should go immediately for the astonishingly superior The Autumn Effect. Work your way forward to this one, but only if you're in the spending mood. Perhaps it's best to listen to a friend's copy or to check out some sample's on the band's Myspace profile first; otherwise, one's expectations may very well be crushed by the reality of Division: a most unexpected offering of mediocracy.
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
blindsider
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 in Music |
 - Top 1000 |
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Member: Sheila Doki
Location: Sherman, TX, USA
Reviews written: 343
Trusted by: 133 members
About Me:
Somebody check my brain.
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