I really wanted to like Antigone Rising. They have a song about New Jersey, for one thing, and it is pro-Jersey, which is a nice change. They are also a feminist rock band that has historically financed their tours and album recordings through fan donations. That is super cool. The album art is also really fun. Very cartoon-y, and despite being a cardboard case the album also manages to convey a lot of information, including little phrases hinting at the stories behind the songs.
This is also a live album, which I usually view as a minus, but in this case the mix is good and the band’s energy provides the sense of purpose that compilation style albums, like live recordings, can sometimes lack. The album was recorded in Troy, New York, of all places, so either Troy is a great rock town or the band is good live. So that’s pretty cool.
The music, the music. Obviously the music is key and that where I don’t know what to do with this. They are kind of Melissa Etheridge-y? Etheridgeish? Etheridge-like. Anyway. They mostly concentrate on a classic rock sound with some decent hooks. It isn’t anything I really haven’t heard before. A good portion of their lyrics are a little lame, but more like “Meh. Live Journal” lame rather than hilariously bad. I can’t say they are a bad band, but they are appallingly close to Jam Band territory. In fact I spend most of my time when listening to this album in trying to figure out if the quality pop hooks outweigh the Jam Band elements. Nonetheless I keep going back and forth on whether or not to sell it. Listening to it a few times for this review has it kind of growing on me, but I think I would rather make room in my music collection for the chick-rock people Antigone Rising is trying so hard to emulate. If they are coming to your town they might be worth checking out, but unless you are really into classic rock or chick rock I really wouldn’t seek this album out. Do with that what you will.
No comments:
Post a Comment