Hurricane Bells-Tonight is the Ghost (Music Review)
By Andrew Gable • Dec 17th, 2009 • Category: Alternative, ReviewsHurricane Bells
Tonight is the Ghost
Vagrant Records
Rating 2.5 out of 5
Links:
Hurricane Bells on MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/hurricanebells
Vagrant Records: http://vagrant.com/public_area
Hurricane Bells is the late-arriving calm American answer to the Strokes and Kings of Leon. The association to Kings of Leon would, in any other circumstance, be enough for me to throw up a little in my mouth, but this side project from Longwave’s Steve Schlitz seems to come out as a somewhat likeable record.
Tonight is the Ghost is a jangly alt-pop record full of bright slide guitars and broom-powered drums, although the chord progressions are somewhat limited. Echoing sweet vocals repeat on almost all tracks, as do the low-impact drums and melodies. This is certainly an easy album to listen to with little exception.
The track “Crocodile,” a one-minute-and-change instrumental track, sounds to me like it was supposed to be something more, but may have been stripped down just for the sake of having it recorded. Tracks to check out would be “Tenterhooks,” “The Winters in New York,” and “Tonight I’m Going to be Like a Shooting Star.” The instrumental “Tenterhooks” is a punchier track than the others, with good starts and stops adding emphasis and drama to the record. “The Winters in New York” is rather well written lyrically, and the chorus hook pairs up with a sneaky guitar solo that comes in around two minutes on. “Tonight I’m going to be Like Shooting Star” is a bit heart-wrenching to hear with its spare vocals and distorted guitar trilling about.
Nothing terribly fascinating, but I can’t fault the band much; this is one of the genres that really has to jump out and grab me to impress me. With what Vagrant Records has put out in the past, it caught me off guard that this was released on this label, but I am reminded that Alexisonfire’s Dallas Green has released his City and Color side project here as well; like Tonight is the Ghost is a much less aggressive release from Vagrant Records is known.
Recommended for fans of City and Color, Strokes, the Church, Appleseed Cast, etc.
BTW, for our teen vampire readers, Hurricane Bells provided the song “Monsters” for the virtually unknown Twilight movie series installment “New Moon.” Swoon. Swoon, I say.
Andrew Gable is a 30-something journalism student in Cincinnati, Ohio. He has played in a few local bands and is an avid collector of music. Outside of sharing his opinion with many people who don’t ask for it, he can be found drawing, skateboarding, and drinking copious amounts of coffee at local coffee establishments.
Email this author | All posts by Andrew Gable
[...] Hurricane Bells-Tonight is the Ghost (Music Review). By Andrew Gable • Dec 17th, 2009 • Category: Beyond, Music Reviews. Hurricane Bells Tonight is the Ghost Vagrant Records Rating 2.5 out of 5. Links: Hurricane Bells on MySpace: … [...]
[...] here to read the rest: ZapTown » Beyond Music Reviews » Hurricane Bells-Tonight is the … By admin | category: music review | tags: century-breakdown, ghost, jersey, months-ago, [...]