| At the start, Echosend offers up a mixed
bag of muted grunge--jangly, too--but the guitar solos have little to do with REM or
Nirvana and maybe more in common with a genetic mutation involving Jane's Addiction-era
Dave Navarro. In front of this tight, fluid band singer Amy Tapor's the throaty thread
holding it all together. Her overlaid vocals (fans on the band's site compare her to Gwen
Stefani) are full, vibrant and soaring. The crunching chorus after the moody buildup on
the epic over 7-minute title track, "I Promise You," is disarmingly dramatic and
as the song lingers there's a sort of eighties feel, especially in guitarist Dan deRamos'
achingly schreechy guitar solo. As the disc goes on, he displays a talent for hair metal,
grunge, new wave, funk, the whole shebang. Versatile and commanding on the next song,
"That Girl," he threatens to take over but between the rock steady soul groove
of drummer Kurt Puckhaber and keyboards of John Mead it's a glorious wah-wah pedalled ball
of noise. But not too noisy, mind you--part of the eighties sheen comes from compression
and slick production, which is why the soulful bashing of their live track "Not
Original" comes as a welcome sharp shock of sun after so much haze. The band says
they write from improvisation, and it's apparent in such free-flowing jams such as the
title track. In another vein, "Be Alright" is so unassumingly pretty with its
piano and acoustic guitar and could easily make it on adult contemporary circuit. As a jam
band with an unmistakable groove, Echosend are compelling. A little editing couldn't hurt,
and a little rawness to the production would make this reviewer happy, but it's obvious
they've got a good working vibe and it comes through regardless of the details.
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