Reviews

This band is a perfect example of what happens when current pop punk acts get as popular and over-saturated as the usual mainstream rock sound, which can be done over and over again but still sell records. Don't ask me why. Livalie is a good local band, which is not hard to argue; it's obvious these guys take their craft seriously but I wish they would dive deeper into what they have and find more bands to draw influence from, instead of the typical mainstream rock acts. Their Myspace lists: Rage Against The Machine, Sevendust, Tool, Incubus, Trapt, Extreme, Evanescence, and Breaking Benjamin as influences. I can only hear Incubus in a few instances, the rest of them are inconceivable to me.

I think if we handed these guys an At the Drive-In or Thursday record and gave them a chance to write new material, we would end up with a record contract-worthy band. The way they sound now, they probably won't get picked up by a major; more plausible is a typical independent label that just signs local decent acts will give them a shot. The talent is there, they just need to play a different style of music. Their sound almost hints at their potential in the post-hardcore world, but they're held back by typical modern rock parts in several songs.

The first song, "Brace for Impact," would fit right in on the radio; it just has that flavor and the melody hooks you in. "Makeshift" is a bit more spacey but still has the mainstream rock sound. "Enemy" definitely leaves me feeling like this band could make something more their own then the other songs on this EP. The track establishes a more unique sound that works very well for them. "Carry On" also keeps me hoping for a better sound. "The Plunge" goes back to the mainstream predictable song structure, and I swear it was a song that was on a Cold record. "Chasing the Color of Truth" actually does a decent job of combining the two sounds, making it the stand out track on the record. The final song, which is a hidden track, is a decent ballad, though I would like to see some more originality on this track as well.

As far as individual talent goes, the vocals stand out the most. Drew Cyphers can sing, without a doubt, and his lyrics aren't bad; he's what keeps me interested in this band. The rest of the band is decent, but nothing amazing. The only thing holding me back from getting into these guys is that they just don't try to sound like anything else other than a band on the radio. This is the kind of band that wins Battle of the Band competitions just because they play crowd pleasing music and in turn make people like myself angry that they do so. With that said, this band could make a big turn around and make an amazing album...everything is there.