Animal Train

Open Up Your Eyes

Written by: PP on 18/09/2009 17:12:23

Pennsylvania, US based Animal Train's three track single "Open Up Your Eyes" was originally meant to be released as a five track EP based on the track numbering in my promo copy, but I guess the band decided against using the remainder of two songs and instead put out a taster of their material. Frankly, I'm pretty happy they only included three tracks because there's just no way I'd be willing to sacrifice my ears for more torture, no matter how DIY and punk these guys are with their all too simple three chord songs and horrible production.

Basically, the vocals are of the shouted kind that have a teeny weeny bit of melody injected to make them at least somewhat bearable. They're remotely catchy, but not anywhere near enough to make a difference or to even draw your attention. The messages are politically charged, so that's a bonus, but the problem is that the record's production is virtually non existent. There's a huge difference between leaving production purposefully rough and having no production at all, and in Animal Train's case, the lack of production leaves the songs sounding flat, especially in the vocal department, the ultimate consequence of which is that the songs sound...annoying (think Lunacy Box annoying here). But before I swing my reviewer's ax in the form of a bad rating, one upside has to be mentioned, which is that each of the three songs could actually sound a lot better should they be surrounded with crisp production. Additionally, "Tell It Like It Is" at least has a chorus that hints about a future ability to write catchier songs. So whilst not entirely devoid of potential, Animal Train still have a long path to walk before their rating increases in my books.

3

Download: Tell It Like It Is
For the fans of: Completely DIY unproduced 3 chord punk, Ungdomshuset bands
Listen: Myspace

Release date August 2008
Soggy Dream Music

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