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Here at Decoded Cast, we believe in expressing all our creativity to its fullest. This is why we have multiple shows ranging from heavy-hitting controversial (Lifecast) all the way to weekly celebrations of new films (Decoded Movie Reviews). We guarantee you will find a show you enjoy and end up surprised at what else catches your eye.
Welcome back To Independent Closet where we give the lesser-known artists a chance to shine. This week we're going to take a look at a Pennsylvania born trio going under the guise, TWICEYOUNG whom are a new up-and-coming act yearning for a chance to prove themselves. And prove themselves they did by originating the album Little Mind Alike in Harrisburg, PA with members Tyler Laspopoulos (lead vocals/guitar), Seth Lourdon (bass), and Zach Myers (drums). After finishing their first album they decided to expand their musical pool by moving to Nashville, TN where they currently reside. It's been a long time coming for the band to have a full lineup and release an album so let's explore Little Mind Alike.
Album "Review"
The album Little Mind Alike lets you know from the start what you are getting into, which is an ambient clash of indie, alternative, and a splash of classic rock. The best interpretation of the first song "Half Dust" is a song akin to Radiohead-esque vocals mixed with the instrumentation of a solemn Brand New single. The song does a great job showcasing the talents of guitarist/vocalist Tyler Laspopoulos, alternating between a somber vocal tone and airy falsetto with ease, a switch that is used frequently throughout the album. All in all it is a GOOD start to the album, allowing for just enough of a taste to wet our appetites for what is to come.
The next two songs entitled "Oceans" and "Acacia" are the perfect back-to-back pairing on the album growing on the ideas "Half Dust" started and running with them. Both songs have been released as singles with the latter (Acacia) having it's own very artistic music video I suggest checking out. The main sounds in "Oceans" are the largely-encompassing piano, sizzling strings/synthesizer, and dynamic drum work which allows the listener to truly hear the skill of Zach Myers as he switches from a heavy emphasis on the snare to booming bass in the matter of a verse/chorus length. This song is by far my favorite track on the album followed closely behind by the next official single.
"Acacia" is just a beautiful song. From the swelling piano and bells opening to the drum/piano outro it just capitalizes on what make this album so great. The song starts slowly (like a good majority of these) with only the piano, vocals, and a very impressive set of back-up vocals painting a vast landscape one can see when one close their eyes. From there the guitar swells in and it is time for this to start building to the pinnacle that is it's chorus which is well worth the wait. The chorus is a mix of vocals overdubs, piano chords, guitar slides, thundering bass, and quite the impressive drum beat that really finds itself incredibly engrossing/powerful despite the lack of dynamic change. This is another point of TWICEYOUNG that is impressive, the majority of their vocals do not change in terms of volume. Which Mr. Laspopoulos deserves a good bit of credit for not defaulting to a standard most singers rely on heavily which is screaming their lungs out. He has a way of conveying all of his emotions; the happiness, sadness, disappointment, and anger all by utilizing the instrumentation himself, Zach Myers, and Seth Lourdon throw onto the page, separating TWICEYOUNG from their contemporaries.
Linked the video for you. Go ahead... CLICK IT
The least impressive song on the album would have to be "Slow Down" which sadly follows both "Oceans" and "Acacia" and succumbs under the weight produced by the two heavy hitters. That's not to say it is a "bad" song in the slightest, I actually rather like the song but, it's here where first time listeners will notice the biggest problem on this album. Artistically Mr. Laspopoulos puts a good bit of reverb on his vocals which makes them sound very big and ambient but every once in a while his actually words are lost in translation because of this effect. I had to listen to songs such as "We Knew Her at Once" and "Slow Down" multiple times to fully understand the exact lyrics, which is true of most artists so it's not a complete loss, just a warning for listeners. That being said, "Slow Down" is probably the most vulnerable song on the album really only consisting of acoustic guitar, vocals, claps, and stomps which minimalistic approach helps it but as stated brings things down a few notches after the prior hits.
The last song I'd like to talk about is "Way Down" which at times sounds like a completely different band from it's intro echoing that of a slowed down Theory of A Deadman song and very clear vocals. Does this hurt the song? Not in the slightest, if anything it's nice to hear Mr. Laspopoulos' clear vocals really pierce through the soundscape and if anything should be done more in the future. The bass grooves a long which a great line that aligns perfectly with the drums before everyone picking up the pace to punch out an awesome chorus. The chorus (and subsequent bridge) on this song sound like a song just itching to be blasting from radio station to radio station across the U.S.
Conclusion
BUY IT: Oceans, Acacia, We Knew Her at Once, Way Down
*As with all things, the opinions expressed our purely that of the author and should be taken as such.** All images, music, and information used are for entertainment purposes. No copyright infringement intended.
Meh. My thoughts when finishing the new album by Panic! At The Disco because unfortunately it does not live up to it's predecessors. While the band has seen many changes from it's original line up (most importantly the loss of bassist Jon Walker and main lyricist/guitarist Ryan Ross) it was nice to see Panic's lead vocalist and now lead writer Brendon Urie (along with original drummer Spencer Smith) was able to sustain such a behind-the-scenes change, releasing an album that many found to be superior to the 2008 follow-up Pretty Odd. But, let's take a moment to speak about not only "Pretty Odd" but the album that catapulted them into super-stardom A Fever You Can't Sweat Out Of. The band formed back in 2004 in Summerlin, Las Vegas by Ryan Ross and Spencer Smith whom later invited Brent Wilson and Brendon Urie to join the band becoming nothing more than a Blink-182 cover band at the time. Eventually after hearing Brendon Urie sing during rehearsals, the band decided to change him to lead vocalist as opposed to current lead singer Ryan Ross. Focusing on making demos, as they felt the area they lived in would not be suitable for live performances, they ended up sending one to Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy who ended up signing the boys to his label named "Decaydance Records," a subsidiary of "Fueled By Ramen," in 2005. This also was the year the band released A Fever You Can't Sweat Out Of to massively positive critical acclaim. The album featured a variety of sounds from electronic dance fuck to Vaudevillian piano strings and accordion making Panic! At The Disco a household name. The band went on to write three-fourths of another album but after careful examination decided they were unhappy with the style and the scrapped the ideas. This led to the band creating an album that was so opposite of their first effort it has a heavy split among fans, some feeling it's genius while others bash it stating there was nothing wrong with the old Panic! sound. This album was titled Pretty Odd and featured a very Beatles-esque sound with many woodwinds, acoustic guitar, and a variety on the singers allowing both Ross and Urie chances behind the microphone. After the mixed reception the band had a split with Ross and new bassist Jon Walker publicly leaving to make The Young Veins while Urie and Smith stayed together retooling Panic!. For times sake I will skip over their return in Vices and Virtues and dive right into their newest effort Too Weird To Live, Too Rare to Die.
Welcome to Brendon Urie the one-man show
The Singles
Clocking in at just under thirty-three minutes Too Weird To Live, Too Rare To Die! already has three singles released including the creepy serial killer inspired "Miss Jackson," the ballad-esque "This is Gospel," and their newest sex infused anthem "Girls/Girls/Boys." All of which are great songs but are very generic for the Panic! At The Disco fans have come to expect. "Miss Jackson" is a fun song if you can get past the semi-killer vibes. According to lead vocalist Urie it was about something that happened with him and how he felt when someone slept with him and disappeared without a trace the next day like he had done. This song in particular shows a huge disconnect from other songs that band has written in the past as it's electronics make it sound more like a new-age Fall Out Boy song (maybe rejected from Save Rock and Roll?). That being sad it along with it's follow-up "This is Gospel" do a great job of creating a pumped up electronic Panic! sound which unfortunately, cannot be said for the rest of the album.
"Girls/Girls/Boys" is the newest single released one day before the album flooded the internet and has quite the music videos for the ladies in the house (see below). The thing is you can hear the blatant 80's synth pop send up in this song which definitely is not a complete loss as the band is known for crossing over genres and decades. But the song itself does not have the energy of the past two songs, no matter how much Urie's belting tries to convince you otherwise. Aside from the cool synth line and groovy bass line there sadly is just not enough here to prove it deserved to be a single besides the success of their other sex-infused songs ("Lying is The Most Fun Girls Can Have Without Taking Their Clothes Off"). I may be missing the point with this bi-sexual decree of "Girls love Girls and Boys" but to me it just does not hit the mark other, much more deserving songs on this album have. Such as....
The Rest of The Album...
The rest of this album is best summed up through a few songs the band has written before. If you have listened to "Hurricane" and "Let's Kill Tonight" from the album Vices and Virtues and liked them then you will like this album. If on the other hand you were like me and barely amused by the two songs, eventually finding them quite the watered-down version of Panic!'s sound, then you will you not like this album. The heavy hitters of the bad department are definitely the ill-fated
Nicotine retreading over the commonly overused ground of a girl's love
being an addictive substance and "Girl That You Love" which tries way
too hard and sound like a techno, synth-pop, Depeche Mode rip-off that
does not lend itself any favors in an album filled with an homage to
80's synth pop.
The song may be absolute $h!t but this video is hilarious
The few stand-out tracks on the album are: "Vegas Lights" which is the pinnacle of this album's sound but for some reason woks in a shameless sense; "Casual Affair" which offers a breathe of fresh air from the terrible "Girls/Girls/Boys;" and the ending track "The End Of All Things" which blends piano, strings, and vocals in a way I wish the previous tracks had as this sound would've suited Panic! much better. It's really the end of the album where I wish the album would've started as things start to pick up after "Girls/Girls/Boys" and evolve into what sounds like a Panic! album. But, sadly of the ten songs on this album far too many are meh or barely worthy of praise. It is for this reason I regrettably need to give this album such a low score.
Concluding Thoughts
I could sadly go on about how much of a disappointment this album was and where it could've done so much better but I will only leave with this: I was a huge fan of A Fever You Can't Sweat Out Of, feel that Pretty Odd is extremely underrated, and enjoyed the simple fun of Vices and Virtues from all of it's huge electronic sound scapes. That being said, this is overkill of electronics, though it could be that 80's synth pop is my least favorite genre of music, and really should've been shelved for the much more lively and better material we all know Panic! can provide. Next time we're flying back into my Independent Closet to listen to the debut release of TWICEYOUNG entitled Little Mind Alike.
DECODED: 6.5 out of 10
As always please like, share, and comment below!
BUY IT:This is Gospel, Miss Jackson, Casual Affair, Far Too Young Die, The End Of All Things
HEAR IT: Vegas Lights, Collar Full
TRASH IT:Nicotine, Girl That You Love,Girls/Girls/Boys
*As with all things, the opinions expressed our purely that of the author and should be taken as such.** All images, music, and information used are for entertainment purposes. No copyright infringement intended.
