Posted on: June 30, 2009 Posted by: anfnewsacct Comments: 0

City Sleeps will be the next big emo band. I’m sure of that fact. The disc starts off slowly with the minute-long opening title track, but as soon as the band gets into the groove of “Prototype”, it becomes obvious that the band is going to strike it big. The style of “Hotel” is not necessarily what one should expect for emo bands in the current period, but seems to rely largely on a previous rock style. This previous rock style had practitioners in acts like the Counting Crows and Dishwalla; City Sleeps speaks just as well to the kids of the late 20th century as well as those in the 21st.

When the band gets to “Just Another Day”, the band goes further away from the emo tag to something more in the vein of acts like Foo Fighters and Incubus. “Not An Angel” is a track that goes more toward the lighter side of nu rock. While the band might not be trying to be the next Disturbed with this track, there seems to be a heavy helping of acts like Finger Eleven during this song. The vocal inflection present on “Not An Angel” calls forward the hair band genre, and especially The Scorpions in particular. By the time that “Walker’s Ridge” starts, the band seems to have lost all momentum that was created with the first part of “Hotel”. This means that “Walker’s Ridge” is a rebuilding track, and the band struggles to get back in the groove that made “Prototype” such a memorable song.

The band actually begins to get back on the track beginning with “Ordinary High”. While it still heavily relies on the slower tempo present in many of the prior tracks, there seems to be an ascending tempo that bursts with energy during the chorus of the song. City Sleeps is a band that will not be constrained by any one specific genre. Where a track like “I Can’t Make You Love Me” may mix older rock styles with an act like Green Day, there are so many different styles conflicting on this track that every different person listening to the track can take something else from it. This will be the way that City Sleeps reaches the top; by providing so many different views to their music that everyone can grab hold. “Hotel” is one of those albums that will provide hours of enjoyment easily.

Top Tracks: Andrea, Prototype

Rating: 6.0/10

City Sleeps – Hotel / 2006 Maverick / 13 Tracks / http://www.citysleeps.com / http://www.citysleeps.com / Reviewed 05 August 2006

[JMcQ]

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