published: 6 /
12 /
2008
Label:
Powerage Rock
Format: CD
Excellent combination of pop punk and hardcore on constantly surprising debut album from 80's-influenced Los Angeles-based rock act Endeverafter
Review
They don’t make them like they used to, do they, fellow 80s fans? Well. Maybe they do. Endeverafter could be the band to sweep in and steal your heart. They open with Motley Crue attitude, continue with Aerosmith-friendly riffs and add a touch of middle-of-the-road soft rock lyrics along the way. In some ways they sound so old school you want to high five and cut the sleeves off your t-shirt, and at other times it’s so modern that you can’t put your finger on what it is.. Borders on pop punk, encompasses some hardcore elements, but always twists itself at the last minute. Endeverafter seem like the kind of band who are daring you to define them, and I’m throwing in the towel already.
There are some albums you play and from the outset you know that you’re going to be in love forever. Or until someone younger and be'tter looking comes along. 'Kiss or Kill' is one of those albums – if you’re not hooked from the first enticing minute of I Wanna Be Your Man', where lead singer Michael Grant and guitarist Kristan Mallory whip up a frenzy in the style of all great glam acts, then I don’t think we were ever going to be best friends. Follower 'Baby Baby Baby' is the kind of sleaze that hairspray was invented for. The video is about as X-rated a one I’ve seen from a virtually unknown band, but it all adds to their appeal. They’re arrogant, without bordering annoying.
The album's only downfall comes in their slower numbers, namely 'Next Best Thing', although last song 'Long Way Home' is a surpisingly enjoyable mellow exploration. Softer songs 'All Night' and 'Gotta Get Out' showcase a more modern sound, Grant’s voice taking on a completely different dimension when not competing with Mallory’s extreme shredding. Even during the weaker songs, Endeverafter are a band that surprise you. The only word that would be an appropriate pre- or suffix to any genre they speed through would be rock, but this doesn’t do them any sort of justice.
This might just be me, since I’d love for there to be a time again where boys wearing eyeliner and hairspray and cowboy boots were not questionable Russell Brand-a-likes, but I really love this album. It’s not perfect, no way, but Endeverafter have created the kind of thing I’d have loved even if I hadn’t been reviewing it. Certain aspects of it touch the sublime – vocal perfectly complements drums, which is given depth by bass, all finished off by a frankly brilliant turn on guitars. It works, is basically all there is to say about it. If only every new band was as sleazy as these guys, there’d be a lot less to complain about.
Track Listing:-
1
I Wanna Be Your Man
2
Baby Baby Baby
3
Gotta Get Out
4
Poison
5
Next Best Thing
6
Tip of My Tongue
7
Road to Destruction
8
All Night
9
Slave
10
From The Ashes of Sin
11
Long Way Home