Published on Nov 11, 2005
Maybe it’s the fact that it gets darker outside earlier these
days. Maybe it’s the cold that is slowly infiltrating into my home
state of Wisconsin. Maybe it’s just that whole “fall attitude,” but
around this time of year I feel “meh.” (Just think, my generation
can sum up our emotional angst and problems in one word). That
feeling has carried over to this E.P from The Alphabetical
Order.
Let’s dig deeper into the definition of “meh.” It is often
attributed to a feeling of apathy, evoking no real strong emotions.
This perfectly encapsulates this E.P. It is neither the best piece
of music I’ve heard, nor is it the worst. It falls right in the
middle.
The musicians of The Alphabetical Order are not incompetent.
They can actually play, and show it fairly often throughout the
disc. I appreciated the Van Halen “guitar tapping” method employed
on “Stepping Stone.” The most driving song on the E.P, “Stone”
takes the title of best track, and at two and a half minutes does
not wear out its welcome.
“Super Lonely” spots some fluid guitar work from Gavin Dunaway,
as well as exhibiting some damn good vocals. Flexibility within a
band is always a good thing; Dunaway is ability to shift from his
metal voice on “Stepping Stone” to a more polished, smooth vocal on
“Super Lonely,” which impressed me.
There are moments on
The Unimpechable E.P. that catch the attention, but there
just aren’t enough of them. As the songs played, I swore I had
heard them before. Does this mean the band has no ingenuity at all?
I doubt it, and as I said there are moments to be found.
Experimenting with their sound might be a good road for the The
Alphabetical Order to go down. For example, throwing in some
keyboard on “Krakow Krakow” was a great choice; you don’t expect
it. Bold strokes like this could go a long way.
Unfortunately, things completely fall apart with the very last
song, “Self Hatred.” My word of advice to the band: keep things
short. While every other song on the E.P. clocks in under five
minutes, “Self Hatred” lingers on for seven and a half. This is too
long a song for this style of rock. The early minutes gathered up
some momentum, but it was lost by the end.
The Alphabetical Order has talent, and I’m sure it will come to
fruition. For now, however, they aren’t there yet.