| Authority Zero - Andiamo |
|
|
| Music Disc Reviews Audio CD | ||||||||||||||||||
| Written by Paul Lingas | ||||||||||||||||||
| Tuesday, 29 June 2004 | ||||||||||||||||||
Authority Zero are four guys who hail originally from Arizona, Wyoming and California. Currently based in Arizona, their individual backgrounds and tastes are reflected somewhat in the music of Andiamo, the second album to be released by the increasingly popular group. Having been featured on “Tony Hawk’s Underground,” the PlayStation 2 game, they are clearly one of the favorites of the extreme sport and music crowd, though this clearly limits their overall appeal. “Revolution” begins well enough, with a catchy little guitar and bass riff and vocals that sound like Billie Joe from Green Day. The chorus leaves much to be desired though, as it is marked by what feels like a lot of faux anger. There are a couple of little riffy interludes where the guitar is left alone to strut its stuff and these areas show a scratch of musical talent. Otherwise, it all sounds a bit too cluttered. “Find Your Way” opens with an uninspired acoustic guitar that preludes the ensuing main chords. It is very raw, with lots of quick strumming that goes back and forth between the guitars. In addition, the vocals of lead singer Jason DeVore are again eerily similar to Billie Joe’s, right down to the resonant and moderately deep sound. The drums keep up a hectic pace, as the guitarists and drummer try to outrace each other. If you went into your local hole in the wall club or bar and these guys were playing, you’d likely be impressed by their enthusiasm and inklings of songwriting ability. They still feel a ways from really breaking into the mainstream, though, not so much because the sound is too raw (we need more of that these days), but because the overall sophistication of songwriting is not fully developed. “Madman” is a good example of this. It begins with a funky overlapping riff that has a bit of rockabilly and ska in it, but the chorus sounds too much like the other tracks. If they can learn to keep up the early influences throughout the entire track, they’d really be on to something. “Mexican Radio” is another example of this back and forth inconsistency, but in contrast to other tracks, where the verses are the best part and the choruses leave something to be desired, here the choruses are good and the verses tedious. Overall, Authority Zero sound like a cross between Linkin Park, Green Day, Blink 182 and every other young group of guys who thrash around on their guitars and think that yelling or talking loudly is a substitute for singing. All that being said, they’re not too bad. Every now and then you can hear some real promise. In terms of sound production, it’s pretty good, very clean-sounding for something that is a pop-rock version of attempted modern punk. At the end of the day, Authority Zero sounds too much like many of the other young and frenetic bands that are out there. Too few bands really know how to set themselves apart, whether it is a limitation of their training, innate musical ability or taste. Like this article? Bookmark and share with any of the sites below.        |
||||||||||||||||||
