The cover of this album does not give any good clues to what will await listeners. “My Life After Death Pt. 1” only furthers this dilemma. There is a cohesive band playing something that is rock in nature, but what really awaits listeners? The band could easily move into rock, emo, or punk; what eventually comes to light is that Roman Numerals play a very time-tested brand of pop-infused rock. This means that there are hints of early U2 and “Synchronicity”-era Police that work through “My Life After Death Pt. 1”. Something that flavors this sound even more so than these influences has to be the early-eighties work of acts like The Cure; the heavy emotional content of the tracks on this album should show that. Whiole the first part of “My Life After Death” is less than three minutes, the ability of the band is such that the song easily feels twice that.
The band can capture listeners’ attention like no one else currently on the market, and it is this ability coupled with their instrumental talent that will ultimately catapult them into the limelight. The division of “My Life After Death” into two tracks makes senses, as the second part of the song is much more upbeat and intense than the first part. While the sequenced drums of “The Rule of V” ,may seem more proper for acts like Debarge, the following angular arrangements of Roman Numerals in this track tie up this rogue sound nicely. In fact, Roman Numerals put to task acts like Franz Ferdinand; this is the real modern, post-disco dance rock that individuals should be listening to. Add an atmospheric type of synthesizers to the mix, and what one has with “The Rule of V” is something that could easily be the hit of the winter. However, it would have to fight for that tile with the following track, “Occupado”. Many of the pieces of these tracks are the same, but “Occupado” seems to be based a little more in the dance side of things than “The Rule of V”; with this track, Roman Numerals even push into the domain of acts like The Sounds.
Roman Numerals have a solid album that will resound loud in listeners’ heads long after the disc has been placed back in the slot it occupies in listeners’ collections. I can’t wait until the band is able to come up with another track.
Top Tracks: Occupado, Induce
Rating: 7.0/10
Roman Numerals – S/T / 2006 Anodyne / 10 Tracks / http://www.theromannumerals.com / http://www.anodynerecords.com / Reviewed 02 October 2006
[JMcQ]