Posted on: October 28, 2012 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

 

The mastering and general sound of A Static Lullaby on this disc is amazing – the band had some serious cash put into the creation of Faso Latido, but this doesn’t always mean that it will translate into gold. A number of these tracks start out good, but really seem to bog down mid-way through the track as the band loses perspective. Tracks like “Smooth Modulator” work under the same theatricality that push forward albums like My Chemical Romance’s “Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge”, but without the same smarmy grin the really made the experience on “Revenge”. To be honest, the guitar riffs on “Faso Latido” are as bombastic and fulfilling as anything guitar gods like C.C. Deville or Zakk Wylde could ever hash up, but they are minor blips on a radar that is largely filled with tepid and rote guitar lines and an ennui that permeates throughout the entire disc (but made most prevalent on tracks like “Stand Up”.)

Everything seems to work with the other elements present on the tracks, with songs like “Radio Flyer’s Last Journey” a myriad of differing styles and sections that wow in their placement on the disc. For all the work that the rapidly-switching sections do on the disc, they seem largely to be smoke and mirrors to distract from the largely pedestrian construct that can be found throughout the disc. The largest thing that A Static Lullaby has to work with during “Faso Latido” is the previously mentioned ennui, a form of anemia that does not mesh at all with the harder-edge of music that is relegated to a back seat (a true injustice, if you ask me). For example, some of the best musicianship that occurs on the disc happens during “Half Man, Half Shark; Equals One Complete Gentleman” comes in the bass line that putts underneath the mediocre vocals that dwarf out anything on the track.

A lack of hooks and well-written songs hold this album back from the glory of a Brand New or Coheed and Cambria. There are hundreds of bands doing this exact thing, so pick up one of their albums before considering ASL for your collection. There seems to be a divide between the vocals and music on the disc that really makes for a disjointed feel that never really disappears from the track. Oh, the extended vocal-spoken breakdown was intolerable when Good Charlotte did it: why did they think it was worthwhile during the title track on “Faso Latido”?

Top Tracks: Smooth Modulator, Radio Flyer’s Last Journey

Rating: 2.8/10

A Static Lullaby – Faso Latido / Columbia / 13 Tracks / http://www.astaticlullaby.com / http://www.columbiarecords.com /

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