Published on Mar 29, 1999
I don’t remember what movie the line came from or who said it,
but when I review unsigned bands, I often hear the line in my head,
“There are eight million stories in the naked city…”
… and New Hampshire-based Ten Story Love is one of them. This
pop-rock four-piece cranks out decent rock and roll, depsite having
a little more work to do, evidenced on their self-titled CD.
The band – lead vocalist/guitarist Brad Page, guitarist/vocalist
Scot Gibbs, bassist Michael Haught and now former drummer Jason
Waugaman – are a pretty tight musical outfit. (Dave Stearns became
the band’s new drummer recently.) The overall sound on
Ten Story Love is surprisingly crisp, even though I would
have bumped the treble knob up just a hair. At times, their playing
reminds me of Big Head Todd And The Monsters, not a bad band to be
compared to.
What strikes me is that Page, on the band’s Website, seems to
downplay his ability to play guitar. In fact, this is not the
band’s weakness at all; the guitar lines, while not flashy, suit
the mood quite well. It is the vocal department that needs some
work. Page is an average singer, but there are times where it
sounds like he’s straining to stay in key (“In A Different
World”).
But there are times on this album where everything just clicks
right into place. The opening track, “The Perfect Girl,” almost has
a Todd Rundgren-like self-deprecation to it: “She’s the perfect
girl / And she’s not mine.” “Breakdown Lane” is almost Delta
blues-like in nature, and is a fun one to listen to. Other
standouts on this disc include “Marian On The Steps,” “Human Torch”
and “It Happens Every Time”.
Other times, the concept is good, but the songwriting shows it
occasionally still needs a coat of paint or two. “Go Fish” is cute,
but a little corny, in its description of a relationship gone sour.
“The Company Store” is an okay effort about selling yourself out in
order to succeed in business, but it needed a little more emotion
for my tastes. The album’s closer, “This Island Earth”, well…
let’s just say I’ll never be able to hear this title again without
thinking of
Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie. Sorry, guys – nice
try, otherwise.
The gist of it is that Ten Story Love is a band who, in this
particular incarnation, had been together for only three years.
There is a lot of musical maturity that you can hear on this disc,
but Page and company still need to tighten up things a little bit,
particularly in the vocals and the songwriting. These are things
that only come along with the scars of life on the road, so I’m
sure that things will iron themselves out.
Ten Story Love is a good start… but I’m waiting to see
what happens in future chapters.