We Are The In Crowd

Guaranteed To Disagree EP

Written by: TL on 21/01/2011 00:51:42

Let's be honest. Hayley Williams comparisons get thrown around a lot these days, also by this site, and it's probably only natural, seeing as Paramore have seemingly run away with the blueprints for how to have success as a female-fronted rock band. In many cases, the similarity in sound is a stretch. In the case of We Are The In Crowd, it is not, as frontwoman Taylor Jardine does indeed sound a helluva lot like Williams. Maybe that's also why her band has gotten their ball rolling more than others with their debut EP "Guaranteed To Disagree".

There's one tell-tale trait setting WATIC apart though, and that is the frequent vocal contributions of guitarist Jordan Eckes. Those are kind of a hate/love point of emphasis for me, because while Eckes shows that he has pipes, sounding a bit like Cartel's Will Pugh on "Never Be What You Want", mostly his lower notes are very run-of-the-mill for the genre, and seem bland compared to Jardine's expert performance. And while I like how the dual-vocal approach helps the band stand out, it does sound a little "High School Musical" at times (see "Both Sides Of The Story"), and the band would do well to think more on how to keep it classy.

Other than that, it's more than fair to criticize the instrumentation and song-writing for being as typical and predictably pop-punk as can be, and you have to wonder if the band would have had any attention if they weren't up one talented chick on most contemporary outfits.

That being said, "Guaranteed To Disagree" is still a damn enjoyable little nugget of a record at times, via not only Jardine's sweet voice, but also the band's undeniable knack for penning tunes that are instantly enjoyable. It gets too obvious and poppy on occasion, like in the mentioned "Both Sides Of The Story" and the likewise borderline annoying "We Need A Break". In opening barn-stormer "Carry Me Home", in the super catchy "Never Be What You Want" and in EP-highlight "For The Win" however, Paramore could find things that should make them worry about getting a run for their money soon, and other soundalikes pretty much get left in the dust. It seems though, like the difference between classy and corny is hair-thin for this band, and at seven tracks, their first EP is only one tacky song away from being a fifty-fifty split between something I would like to hear again, and something I wouldn't. In all fairness though, for me that's something I'm much more interested in keeping an eye on, than a record that is 100% "just okay".

7

Download: For The Win, Never Be What You Want, Carry Me Home, Lights Out
For The Fans Of: Paramore, Hey Monday, The Narrative, Mae, Cartel
Listen: myspace.com/wearetheincrowd

Release Date 08.06.2010
Hopeless Records

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