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Written by Kevin Hakansson
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Friday, 27 April 2007 |
Weatherbox
American Art
Doghouse Records
A
 It’s hard for anybody to be two things at once, especially when those two things are polar opposites. Unhappy with a big smile on your face, defiant while following the rules, brave while scared to death; it ain’t easy.
For that matter, it’s not easy for a band to do two completely things at once either. Actually, the examples above can apply to music too. It ain’t easy to integrate two different styles into your music, let alone be able to convey two completely different emotions.
This brings us to Weatherbox. Throughout their debut full-length, American Art, this San Diego quartet pops out guitar riffs that are both crunchy and catchy, arrangements that are dually ambitious and accessible, and most notably, lyrics and vocals that are simultaneously bold and paper-thin frail. It's this amalgam that makes it hard to pin down Weatherbox as following any genre specific trends | "Atoms Smash" immediately puts an idea in the head of the listener that will prove largely incorrect. The borderline scream/shout vocal intro will make listeners think they're about to listen to a punk rock album, and for much of this tune, that proves true. The deliberate, sludgy guitar brand of punk that this tune provides sounds like the laid back child of Avail and Hot Water Music. Regardless, it’s not a bad first impression, as “Atoms Smash” proves to be one of the best songs here.
"Armed to the Teeth," isn't too much of a deviation, but vocalist Brian Warren does get a bit more melodic. It's once you hit track three, "The Clearing," that the pop-rock potential that Weatherbox has begins to show through. Warren laments "They found me in the snow, icicles on all my clothes," in a warble that seems like a cross between Conor Oberst and Kermit the Frog. His vocals are fragile as can be, emitting emotion that a more conventional vocalist might not.
Warren shouts "I walked past the gardens and into the trees, and I found myself rather lost," in a bridge passage that shows the band's penchant for great melodies. These teriffic melodies that Weatherbox provide in just about every song are frequently augmented with some pretty ambitious guitar writing. "Moments Before the Shooting of Future Ryan" is rife with syncopation, unconventional chords, and near percussive rhythms behind Warren's howling.
| Not surprisingly, Weatherbox's ability to combine so many musical elements leads to some pretty anthemic songwriting. Warren sings "I am uncaged" through gritted teeth on "A Flock of Weatherboxes" in one of the braver moment from American Art, while the opening of "Drop the Mike" is brash and proud. Later on in said track is perhaps the band's most daring moment, a rapped bridge section right before the closing chorus where Warren spouts, tongue in cheek, "Don’t you think it's best if we just leave it to rest? Like why am I rapping like do we have no ideas left?"
Weatherbox saves its best for last on American Art. "Drop the Mike" comes right between the acoustic "The Drugs," an impeccable weep about friends and, well, drugs, and the closing "Trippin' the Life Fantastic," a song whose Bloc Party-esque intro gives way to yet another autobiographical celebration of life.
Usually an easy way of painting a new band's sound is to compare it to a couple other groups, but Weatherbox truly is difficult to put your finger. Their near perfect, creative melody writing has drawn comparisons to label-mates Say Anything, but Weatherbox has a simmering edge and borderline rage that give their sound a bit more weight. While Warren's periodically delicate vocals may remind some of Thursday or Bright Eyes, the comparisons don't go much further. Weatherbox basically takes some of the best elements from bands like those and take just the right amount of everything to hybridize their own punk/pop/prog bastard. myspace.com/weatherbox |
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