Stairwell - Sounds Of Change

  by Jonjo McNeill

published: 10 / 4 / 2003

Label: Hopless
Format: CD

intro

Strong, but ultimately confusing emo with optimism from Californian group, Stairwell

Stairwell hail from California and you can hear the sunshine state’s influence in their music. Emo of a very optimistic nature, they sound like Jimmy Eat World would had they been force fed Supergrass records for a month. A very short album at only nine tracks (I don’t know about you but a ten second sample of a thunderstorm at the start doesn’t count in my eyes), they nonetheless manage to pack a lot in. Some of the songs here are outstanding: ‘Disaster’ sounds like my beloved (don’t laugh!) Marion, but played on a sunny beach in CA. And the sunny nature perhaps belies the songs’ rather downbeat lyric: ‘It’s starting to take its toll / Do I have to lose again?’ It is, though, a great opening track (again, I’m not counting ‘The Storm’). ‘Boxcar’ is almost too similar to Feeder's big summer hit of a few years ago ‘Buck Rogers’, but doesn’t quite grate as much. It’s a good tune with lyrics about not fitting into the 'cool' scene, and not really caring either. It’s fitting, as emo has really taken second billing to the 'garage' scene in recent times – a surprise when you consider the retro nature of the vogue. A lot of emo music is important to a great deal of people – I’m thinking of the hardcore followings of Jimmy Eat World and Dashboard Confessional (who always manage to crop up in my reviews – but they do share a producer with Stairwell, so it’s at least justified this time!) – but I doubt Stairwell will change anybody's life. They’re a fine band who have produced a fine album, I would heartily recommend this to anybody who would listen, but they don’t feel like an IMPORTANT band. That said, the more I listened to this, the more I liked it. There are songs on here which you could picture being played on daytime Radio One (‘Breathless’ stinks of the Top Ten!) so maybe they will prove to be emo’s big winners. It’s hard to say. There’s good, original guitar playing on here, backed by a solid rhythm section, and topped with a great two piece harmony vocal. They deserve success for the sunny nature of the music, and fans’ of the aforementioned should love them. Definitely recommended by me, but I’m not going to say they’ll go down in history for this one. Perhaps a band to watch in years to come, I know I will be.

Track Listing:-