| Echosend's latest EP is a three song,
five-movement song cycle of lost love written with all the angst and confessional banality
of a 13-year-old diarist recounting her breakup with her first boyfriend. Echosend's
grunge-metal-pop professionalism has won them plenty of stage time around Chicago, from
Park West (a sold out show now available on videotape) to the Abbey Pub and almost
everywhere else in between. But if this EP is any indication, the band could stand to risk
quite a bit more on some originality.
Thirty seconds into the first track, you might
find yourself wondering if you've picked up some early demo by No Doubt, with less humor
and originality. But that's due only to the ballsy vibrato of Echosend's talented lead
singer Amy Topor, which recalls Gwen Stefani. But the humorlessness of Echosend's
aggressive grunge pop was enough to make me (not much of a No Doubt fan) wish I were
listening to a No Doubt record. The EP attempts to show off its instrumental tightness.
They pull off mood shifts from scorching power chords to moody melancholic ambiance and
back to ripping electrics with the smoothness one expects from a professional band. The
show-and-tell is performed with particular pride in the seamless transitions of the
three-movement improvisational rock piece that is the EP's last three tracks ("Did
you lie, II. Exorcising Demons, III. Aftermath").
But it's all in service, alas, of some fairly
dull songwriting. Each song on the EP finds Topor staring at her exposed navel with
unremitting unhappiness. Track one: "Who's that girl in the mirror? What does she
want with me? Who's that girl? Who's that girl? What does she want me to be?" Track
two: "I wanted to be loved, I wanted to make you happy, but now you are alone and I
know that I need move on." The melodies, while definitely listenable, are less than
remarkable." Track three: "Don't take away my will to live. Don't take it away,
my baby." Track four: "I needed you, I wanted you." Track five: "Make
up your mind and get over this. You're on your own."
Unhappiness is, of course, more than allowed in
rock music. In grunge circles it's even encouraged. But I hope Echosend's next bout with
musical demons will apply their improvisational musical talent to some more carefully
crafted songwriting. Wrestle with originality a bit, along with the demons. Mope,
Echosend, if you must. But mope smartly.
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