
I finally found some time to do these reviews that have been sitting on my iPod for months now. Nothing like a trans-continental flight for seven hours to help find the time to do these reviews.
First up is
Liberty Lies who are from UK, where I am traveling from coincidentally. They sent their EP
New Addiction into us and it is a four song super punch to the gut.
The EP begins with
The Wire - a song with a wonderful vocal track laid down by
Shaun. His vocal range never more present than on this track. He weaves from a soothing assuage to a raspy, whiskey tinged, high end.
I love the simple, yet effective guitar solo that punctuates
The Wire. The guitar work focuses mostly on rhythm and melodic work, but the solo was a welcomed punctuation mark. Since there are two guitarists (
Dan and
Josh) and I have no idea who does the leads or the rhythm, I will give them both credit for it.
This is a great opening song, how can
Liberty Lies continue the party. A lot of my negative reviews stem from the flow of the album. Some bands slow it down too fast or too early and that pisses me off. Just as soon as I get driving fast or strutting down 5th Ave, the band slows it down and I have to skip the song so as to keep my pace. Luckily,
Liberty Lies don't spoil my speed.
The second track
Hero, is a
Shinedown (
I Dare You) inspired anthem. This is a great single if I have ever heard of one. The band already hooked me with
Shaun and
Dan/Josh simple guitar line. The rhythm section (
Matt and
Stevo) adds a part as they build to this sing song chorus. This track stuck in my head for days after hearing it and that is a tough chore because I listen to a lot of music.
Hero was able to fire a trident in my brain and I couldn't get it out....not that I wanted to.
The production value is great for an unsigned band. You just don't hear this kind of production, so money well spent guys. You can get a great feel for how the band would sound in a live setting thanks to the production.
There really isn't a bad song on this four song EP. The band shows its diversity with
Crow Road as it is a bit harder than the first two songs on the EP.
The Wire and
Hero both have Modern Rock Radio written all over them, but
Crow Road has a harder, thicker bass vibe, rougher, syncopated guitar work, and a visceral pounding drums. The guitar solo on this song is like
David Hasselhoff's penis...long and uncut. I can see this song being popular with the military as it is a great head bobber, air punching tune....which I have noticed...they like to do.
I don't like comparing bands to current bands, because they are all using something from their musical heroes. However, the
Shinedown influence is unmistakeable. It litters the four song EP and if you are a fan of
Shinedown, you will find a lot to like about
Liberty Lies. If you are a fan of good music, you will also find a lot to like about
Liberty Lies. They provide a hard hitting rhythm section, a furious classic guitar sound, and a beautifully ranged vocalist. What's not to like about that?
I can only hope that this band will come to the States and do a mini-tour. I offer up
Bob Wettner's house as a place to stay. If the band is wavering, he does live across the street from a Hooters, which is by design of course.
Check out the band's
MySpace for a preview of their music and where you can see their live show. If the critics are to be believed, and that is debatable,
Liberty Lies puts on a great live show. So if you are unlucky enough to live in the land of bad teeth and women who can't fuck*, you can at least rejoice in the fact that
Liberty Lies is there to save the day.
*Ed. Note: Craig has never had sex with a UK woman. In fact, he hasn't really had sex with an American woman unless you call crying in a McDonalds bathroom and a face full of semen sex.