“Slogans for their drums”
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[5.83]
Brad Shoup: I guess those from-the-heels group howls aren’t dead yet. The drums speak a restlessness that the singer doesn’t match, but for the wonderful line “keep me up until the body disagrees”. For taking the bridge from Katy Perry’s “Roar” and making an Interpol song from it, they deserve a shot at the singles chart.
[5]
Thomas Inskeep: This sounds both like contemporary Christian pop/rock, and what passes for alternative these days. With the right push, it could be a big US rock radio hit.
[4]
Mo Kim: The upbeat, fast-paced rock that sounds just as good at 20 as it did at 15 when I was hopping from artist to artist on my Last.fm recommended feed. The choral chants still rouse; the drums pound to an expected but welcome climax. As a bonus: this band’s serving as an example of Asian Americans crushing it in the music industry makes me emotional in a way I can’t quite put into words.
[8]
Iain Mew: “29,” with its crisp drums and echoing rushes of guitar, has the sonic hallmarks of repression indie (as no one else calls it), but not so much the repression. It comes straight out with a howl and pounding drum rolls, and Alex Hwang doesn’t hold back even before the chorus surge. It means that there isn’t the same tension I usually love in this kind of music, but pushing on and on offers compensating thrills.
[7]
Patrick St. Michel: I guess now is as good as ever to have a pre-Grammy Arcade Fire revival, and Run River North do it well on “29.” Driving tempo, near-scream singing, a little violin to up the drama — it’s all here and, though it lacks that extra punch, they pull it off solidly here.
[6]
Alfred Soto: They’re smart enough to write slogans for their drums, and their tempos suggest not just Big Country but The National and Bloc Party. If in the end it doesn’t cohere blame the sound: We’ve Got a Drum Roll and We’re Gonna Use It.
[5]