Dave Smalley's previous experience with melodic punkers All serves him well on Down By Law's debut, which often incorporates tunefulness without sacrificing intensity; the vocal harmonies of Dreams Away and the dreamy delay effects of Vision don't undermine those songs, but make them a bit deeper and more dimensional. Unfortunately, those techniques aren't applied consistently throughout the album, resulting in a lack of cohesion; at times Down By Law sounds like one of the many Bad Religion clones (The Tr...   [ read more ]

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'Down By Law's first collection of singles is a surprisingly mixed bag. With 19 songs taken from seven different albums, one would think they could fill an album with some killer tracks. But their reputation as an important force in (punk-pop) is not strictly from their songwriting. The band was never bad; in fact, it had some really great songs along the way. But a lot of the songs utilize the same three-chord structure and lyrical content, causing several tracks to just blend together. This is all the mo...   [ read more ]

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Down By Law moved closer to getting the balance right on its second album. Fusing together the varied elements -- SoCal punk aggression, melodic sweetness, and occasional mid-tempo rock swagger -- that were rarely integrated into a cohesive sound on its debut, the band often sounds powerful and unified on Blue. This time around, Dave Smalley's voice sounds stronger, and the songs are generally more dynamic and better mixed. Some of the tunes fail to make an impression, particularly those that bog down the ...   [ read more ]

MP3 $10.49

Other people also bought:

Festival of Dead Deer  Many Faces of Mental Illness, Cursive  The Recluse/Art is Hard, Earth  Phase 3: Thrones And Dominions