My Amazon Reviews: Twenty One Pilots "Vessel"

Leaky Boat Of Fun
3 Out Of 5 Stars

Playing a curious mix of rap, folk and pop, Twenty One Pilots are a band that are impossible to pigeonhole. The opening track on "Vessel" bounces back and forth between the rap and the pop in a seamless fashion that is particularly tasty. "Ode To Sleep" sets the tone for the album as it's as eclectic a single as you'll hear from a new band.

I was lured to "Vessel" by the single "House of Gold," which sounds more like The Lumineers or Passengers than what comprises the bulk of the CD. Normally that would tick me off, as I'm not a fan of rapping, and had I listened to the samples of the rest of the songs first, I'd probably have skipped the disc. The vocoder heavy "Migraine" and the more downbeat "Car Radio" sink in enough to compensate for any shortcomings. Twenty One Pilots duo Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun know how to couch their way around the laptop rockers and the screamo-emo and make "Vessel" a fun listen. If it weren't for the fact that the lead vocals sometimes turn to screams (you're no Roger Daltry, guys), I'd like this a whole lot more.

     

My Amazon Reviews: Fitz and The Tantrums "More Than Just a Dream"

Pitching for the Tantrums
4 Out Of 5 Stars

Possessed with a duo of knock out lead vocalists, Fitz and The Tantrums are the latest band to wear there 80's retro heart on their collective sleeves. But where amny of these retor bands are obsessed with laptops and old Roland synths, Fitz and Company push in a more soul-oriented direction. It moves them a notch above their contemporaries, thanks to bandleader Michael "Fitz" Fitzpatrick and soul belter Noelle Scaggs, When the two of them start mixing it up as they do on "Break The Walls" and the neo-soul of "6AM," "More Then Just a Dream" sounds like few other bands out there.

There's also, as earlier described, a few 80's ringers, and they both happen to be the singles. "Out Of My League" and "Spark" mark their wannabe new waver turf with a big pile of hooks, but they're pedestrian to when the band gets to cooking. They have another secret weapon in multi-instrumentalist James King, who wields a wicked sax on a few of the songs ("6AM," and "The Walker" and is, in my opinion, underutilized here.

From what I understand, Fitz and The Tantrums also have a killer live show, and if they'd up more of the soulful content in their song performances on record, they'd have a killer CD. Still, the songcraft here is first rate, and even the name of the band is a throwback. "More Than Just A Dream" snaps and crackles and comes in on the short end of derivative...lose the too common production and they will be dynamite.