A Raleigh, NC band that I previously have no connection with kick things off right. A stirring backbeat that's an immediate dance instigator, "Calm Down" feels like Arcade Fire covering "Just Like Heaven".
From there it's more of the same cacophonous indie rock. The mixture of guitars, drums and layered vocals are always pushed into the red. Even on the mid-tempos, The Love Language doesn't leave an ounce of silence in the mix. Either a bedrock of keyboards layers things over, or some actual horns are peppered in.
Unfortunately, the band never matches the energy of that first track. In my head, Stuart McLamb as a frontman is too subdued. The layered vocals/sounds may be there to mask his overt mellowness. And lyrically, everything is muddled to much in the mix to tell if there's a song to singalong to. "On Our Heels" is an example of one that could have been a fun '80s pop throwback, but goes back into modern indie rock chamber echo.
The closer, "Pilot Light" is more epic in feel. So it earns is over distorted sound. A Christmas-y feel with chimes and bells mixed in with its horns and strings. It's probably a rallying cry for the gathering of friends. But the album as a whole left to big a hole in the middle of its intro and end. The filled that space with a lotta sound and too little of memorable songs. (2.5 of 5 stars)
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