Never Shout Never - Time Travel
2011, Loveway/Reprise
2011, Loveway/Reprise
Joplin, Missouri rockers Never ShoutNever leap forth in 2009 with their first self-produced album, Time Travel.After several efforts at conforming their sound to the wishes of others, NeverShout Never speak fully in their own voices on Time Travel. The seismicshift in sound and style is a far cry from their previous effort, Harmony.Fans will either love or hate the new sound, but the change also opens the doorto an entire demographic of new fans who enjoy modern rock deeply influenced bythe sounds of the psychedelic 60's.
"Time Travel" is ethereal,synth-based anti-pop that sounds like a blend of Alan Parsons and Coldplay. Thesound is intriguing, if a bit discommoding, "Awful" isanachronistically catchy, like a blend of The Beatles and ELO dressed indiatonics and fleshed out on the shared borderlands of Brit Rock and Prog."Simplistic Trance-Like Getaway" is something of a love song, builtfrom a subdued yet incessant melody and wrapped in full-bodied sound. "ComplexHeart" sounds like an attempt to blend Adult Contemporary Pop and Emostyles in a fractious marriage that's overwrought and overdone. Imagine Queenmeets Air Supply and you're in the ballpark. "Lost At Sea" plays tothe prog and psychedelic image that Never Shout Never seems intent to craft.The modal vocal harmonies add cool effect, but the run on chorus contrastspoorly against the point-by-point quarter-note rhythms of the verse.
When a band takes back the reins onits sound for the first time after years of depending on other producers, theresult is bound to be a bit messy at first. So it is with Never Shout Never on TimeTravel. It's not a bad record, but Time Travel suffers fromself-guidance by a band suddenly free to do what it wants, but uncertain abouttheir chosen direction. It will take at least one more album, and some time onthe road, for Never Shout Never to become fully comfortable steering their ownship musically, and the next album will be much more instructive about thedirection of the band than is Time Travel. Nevertheless, this is acompelling document of a band in transition, with some almost brilliant momentsto be found in the search.
Rating: 3 Stars (Out of 5)
CD Download
iTunes
Please note that the Amazon.com prices listed above are as of the posting date, and may have changed. Wildy's World is not responsible for price changes instituted by Amazon.com.