Time To Fight (EP)

Dead Next Door

Prison, 2006

http://myspace.com/thedeadnextdoorband

REVIEW BY: Jeff Clutterbuck

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 07/07/2006

There's always a benefit to listening to EPs -- they are short yet often say a lot about a band.

The Dead Next Door are a band from Britain, and it becomes quickly apparent that their style is derived from a variety of different British groups. Normally, this would not be a problem, except Time To Fight comes off as a poor man's Coldplay, or Arctic Monkeys, with some American influence by way of Nirvana thrown in.my_heart_sings_the_harmony_web_ad_alt_250

Once again, as is the case with almost all of the indie discs that I listen to, the skills of the musicians can't be called into question. There are no poor players to be found on Time To Fight. The problem lies strictly with the songs themselves -- I know not every song has to have a hook, but a song like "Metro" is devoid of anything a listener can latch onto. The arrangements aren't anything special, and the performances themselves are lackluster.

That latter point was one way in which The Dead Next Door reminded me of Coldplay -- lifeless. There's a sense the band wants to cut loose and rock a little bit, but something holds them back. The lead vocalist, Andreas, never manages to inspire a general sense of excitement on a song like the title track. Again, the vocals aren't bad, just bland.

There were some moments I did manage to enjoy on Time To Fight. The closing track "Choose Life," taps into the aforementioned Nirvana vibe; I particularly enjoyed the guitar work. The ringing guitar/bass chords on the title track shakes things up a little bit; I just wish the song had been up to the task of matching them.

I never like to dismiss any indie band, because there's always the potential they'll improve and hit it big. However, it would not be right if I showered praise on this album for the sake of sparing their feelings. Time To Fight fails to entertain, the simplest goal for any piece of music.

Rating: C-

User Rating: Not Yet Rated


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