Revolvers - "revolvers"

Album review by Mark Cuthbertson

The Revolvers’ debut CD is easily one of the better power pop albums I’ve heard this year. The vocals on this album are far better and catchier than most, and while harmonies appear on nearly every song, they are not overused. Best of all, the group made some extra effort to go beyond the typical 3-chord pop song and make each song distinct without straying from their raw, energetic focus.

Most of the twelve songs on the album are fast, tight carefree love songs. If it’s really possible to express deep emotions in a short pop song, then the Revolvers are to be commended for attempting to do so in less than two minutes (“There’s a Heart,” “Annie,” “Not Really Blue,” and “New Depression”). However, the hopelessness expressed in the lyrics to “New Depression” is neither reflected in the melody nor apparent in the music. In fact, Justin sounds like he could be smiling while singing the song – especially on the harmonized lines, “I’ve got a new depression now/this new depression’s got to go.” On the other hand, the mostly-major music and melody of “Not Really Blue” is perfect for a song about denial, and unlike most songs about lost love, the focus remains on objective images and avoids overstatement, oversimplification, or melodrama. The lyrics to “Better Off Alone” are also well written for the same reasons. Unfortunately, not many of the other songs avoid clichés typical to love songs (night, stars, angels, beating and/or broken hearts, whether to stay or go, forever, perfection).

“Devotional” and “The Angels’ Share” are longer, slower, and moodier than the rest. The former could be most easily compared (and unfairly as with any comparison) to the Wallflowers with its bright and jangly guitars, darker and more relaxed melody, and moderate straight-ahead rock beat. “The Angels’ Share” flashes back to the ballads of the early and mid-eighties (before hair band era) and uses features sparse, wide-open guitar chords over a pulsing rhythm section in the verses.

--Mark Cuthbertson