Draft - In a Million Pieces

  by Adrian Huggins

published: 4 / 10 / 2006

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Review

This is the fantastic debut album from US punk/hardcore/emo rockers the Draft. The band features members of popular and highly influenced indie rockers Hot Water Music, who are much loved by tour mates, genre mates and peers such as the Alkaline Trio, Gratitude, Thrice and Thursday, to name but a few. The musical stylings between Hot Water Music and the Draft are fairly similar although this could never be described as a poor version or a cheap alternative to Hot Water Music. The Draft have the kind of hooks and choruses that stick in your mind on the first listen and become instantly recognisable. 'In a Million Pieces' is truly one of those albums that is almost instantly easy to get into. As soon as you’re about half way through the first song, 'New Eyes Open', you’ve really got a feel for what they’re all about and you can tell it’s going to be a great record. 'Lo Zee Rose' and 'Wired' have the gang chorus sing-a-long anthem feel of some of Welsh rockers Lost Prophets more recent offerings, only in a much more stripped down and raw way. The similarities to the Draft and Welsh rock pretty much start and end there, but there are just as many memorable choruses along the way. Songs such as 'All We Can Count' have a much more old skool punk rock feel to them, sounding akin to the likes of Rancid and Dropkick Murphy’s. 'Let It Go' is a far more punked up number, but has a certain air of maturity that only comes from being in a well-respected band for some years. 'Bordering', which comes mid album, is meanwhile one of the best songs I’ve heard in a long, long time. It is a ferocious yet delicate emo punk rock song. It is the sort of song you lose yourself in for the 3 minutes and 19 seconds it is on. It is the song I am playing in my car at the moment when I’ve had a really boring shitty day at work and life seems pretty rubbish, and then instantly things don’t seem half as bad. On the merit of this song alone I would highly recommend checking the Draft out if you're wanting to hear something with real feeling and real emotion without a trace of make-up, tears or floppy black fringes.

Track Listing:-

1 New Eyes Open
2 Lo zee rose
3 Let It Go
4 Alive or Dead
5 Bordering
6 Impossible
7 Wired
8 Not what i wanna do
9 All we can count on
10 Out of tune
11 Longshot
12 The Tide is out

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