Posted on: May 14, 2010 Posted by: Aaron_George Comments: 0

Innaway – S/T / 2005 Some / 10 Tracks / http://www.innawaymusic.com / http://www.some.com / Reviewed 11 May 2005

The dreamy fuzz of “Threat Hawk” hides a great appreciation for harder rock, and the driving guitar line that threads its way through the first track makes me expec that the band will just break out in true rock-fashion. When the band brings finesse to their general sound (“The Strings of North Egg”, for example), Innaway really sidesteps the question of “why should people care”, as each note on the track is constructed for a purpose. The sequenced drum beat of “Tiny Brains” pulls this debut out from the music of the sixties and seventies and innovates Innaway as a very calm and collected, almost Postal Service-esque type of nu-dance band. The planned impressiveness of the guitar work during “Rise” looks towards “Paranoid Android”-era Radiohead for its key influence, The track is low-key, but against is strengthened by the utter ignoring that Innaway does to any extra sounds that would diminish the track’s soul. The band’s commitment to “only the fact” is shown best during the tribally-influenced “Fall”, a track lead primarily by the emotionally effecting drums.

“Follow Moon”, the beginning of the second half of Innaway seems to stray a little from the course provided by the tracks on the opening half. The synth lines really diminish the importance of the guitar work during most of the track, and when the guitarist does break out, the atmosphere is echoey and not conducive to what could be tremendously impressive. Much of what was lost on “Follow Moon” is restored with the instrumental tour-de-force “Golden”, a track that finds time to shine even through the grime and fuzz present on the track. The collision of cultures makes for some good music during “Stolen Days”, where Innaway gets pulled in a Neil Young and a sixties-rock direction, eventually making a middle of the road America-influenced sound.

Innaway strives for a slew of different sounds throughout the entirety of this disc, and while most of their endeavors turn out well, none really surprise as much as the final track, “Stolen Days”. Innaway’s work on the ending of this disc makes up for any of the mentioned weakness in the middle section of the CD, as the band forgoes the fuzz and comes through with a shuffling and completely compelling track to close off communications for this album. Innaway may have only one album under their belt,but the confidence they exist on this, their debut is enough to make it memorable.

Top Tracks: George Walker on Water, Follow Moon

Rating: 6.4/10

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