There For Tomorrow

The Verge

Written by: TL on 31/07/2011 23:27:00

While it was their winning of the MTVU Woodie Award for 'Breakout Artist of The Year" in 2009 that really put Florida quartet There For Tomorrow (not to be confused with the now defunct Therefore I Am - I often make that mistake) on the map, few people seem to realise that the band has been around since 2004, and that their new album "The Verge" is actually their third LP. Not that I've been any wiser, because despite having made note of the band's seeming quality, I've never truly got into them for some reason.

I am wiser now however, motivated by my experience with "The Verge", which claims the often underrated honour of being my personal album of the week. The band has glowed with potential ever since gaining attention, but on "The Verge" it seems they are now cutting loose their underground anchoring and setting sail for the big leagues.

Compare it if you would, to the step Paramore took from "Riot!" to "Brand New Eyes". Similarly, "The Verge" disconnects TFT from the feeling of them being a band for scenesters and alternative kids, and instead veils them in potent big-rock tunes that beg the attention of anyone with an ear for good songs. A vibrant, threatening bass presence in the mix gives the band muscle enough to no longer seem like Anberlin-lite, and their pop-rock is now coated with mature melodies that hint of inspirations from the harder end of 90's alternative rock (see "Saave" and "Get It").

While those songs lend depth and credibility to the band however, they are at their very best when presenting shameless arena-rockers like "Nowhere Blvd." and "Hunt Hunt Hunt", both delivering frighteningly well-written parts in both chorus and verse departments, and especially in the latter song, singer/rhythm guitarist Maiki Haini Maile's excellent vocals combine with the bass line for a moment as sexy as they come. Both songs showcase just how effective the band is at wielding the traditional rock song formula with power, texture and precision.

In fact, the only thing I'm guessing people can find to complain about with this band, is that they sound almost too good. Both singing, playing, mixing and song-writing is so perfectly polished that some might ask if it isn't a bit too clinical to feel authentic, yet while I feel where such concerns are coming from, it's hard not to have them deafened when good songs follow each other as convincingly and richly decorated with musical detail as they do here.

Case in point, have a listen to the mega-infectious chorus to "18", that is if you aren't too busy enjoying the electrifying riff that underscores its first verse. Wonder at Maile's razor-edge falsetto in the bluesy ballad "Blu". Enjoy the sole bright, uplifting "The Joyride", boasting another chorus that nests in your mind after very few listens. Then get down to closer "I'd Be Changing If I Were You" for well, some more brazen riffage and catchy chorus magic.

To sum up "The Verge" though, all I really need to say is that it's a record that, given but a few listens, will start to break down any reservations you might have, through the sheer force and number of the good songs on offer. The fact that a person as impatient as me can recite passages from at least eight out of twelve tracks tells me as much, as does my constant impulse to listen to them again. That the album also has more energy, more class and more details than most competitors then, is just an added yet much appreciated bonus.

8

Download: Nowhere Blvd., Hunt Hunt Hunt, 18, I'd Be Changing If I Were You
For The Fans Of: Anberlin, Paramore, Madina Lake
Listen: myspace.com/therefortomorrow

Release Date 28.06.2011
Hopeless Records

There For Tomorrow "Hunt Hunt Hunt" by hopelessrecords

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