Artist: Kids In Glass Houses
Title: Dirt
Genre: Alternative Rock
Release Date: 6th August 2010
Label: Roadrunner Records
Album Review
KIDS IN GLASS HOUSES was inspired by GLASSJAW and good old fashioned alternative rock of the 90s. Drawing on cues from NEW FOUND GLORY, AFI, and THIRD EYE BLIND, this British outlet has been putting plenty of energy and time into their music. They’ve already got one album out - released in 2007 - and shortly after released ‘Dirt’. It’s addictive, with emotion laden vocals, catchy melodies, and percussive drums that know how to draw an audience.
The album begins with ‘Artbreaker I’ which is sounds like an alternative punk track, aggression fuelled and full of life. Vocals switch between screaming and singing, and the guitars are laced with energy that bounces all over the place. The drums are a bit faded out but there are other tracks that showcase them better. KIDS also are adept at performing soft, melodic, radio friendly tracks such as ‘Matters At All’ which sounds a bit like taking YELLOWCARD’s emotion and mixing it with PARARMORE’s catchy rhythms to create the ultimate rock track. Everything about this track is exciting. ‘Lilli Rose’ has some great vocal patterns, mixed between backing choruses and electronic enhancements to create a ‘warble effect.’ When one pays attention to the lyrics, it’s pretty much of a beat-down lyrically, but at the same time so infectious that one can’t help and enjoy it. ‘Giving Up’ slows things down, and this is where the drums sound really great.
Vocally, though, it doesn’t match up as they sound a bit whiny like SMILE EMPTY SOUL, but the instrumentation is awesome. However, sometimes the vocals work on other slow tracks such as ‘The Morning Afterlife’ which features some of the best lyrics KIDS has to offer. There’s also some synth here to make it more romantic and epic, and creates a very diverse track that’s also mixed with the heavy chords that KIDS fans have been used to so far. Finally, the notable ‘Artbreaker II’ is another choice cut as it carries on the punk vibe from the first track, but has some unique guitar melodies the weave and turn in distortion that sound different from the others. The backing choruses are great crowd energizers and the band really puts all their energy into this one to give the fans the alternative rock track of the album.
This is certainly another fresh piece of music that will make the fans happy. Capitalizing on the hits of the mainstream sounds, KIDS deliver Dirt in a style that pays tribute to a time when alternative rock wasn’t so pop driven and yet still very accessible. There’s very little to turn anyone off with this album because it is very diverse, musically. There’s the slow songs, the harder songs, and a mix of middle-way ones to appease all audiences. Hopefully these guys will continue to create great music without losing their style.
Tracklist
01. Artbreaker I - 2:32
02. The Best Is Yet To Come - 3:39
03. Sunshine - 3:43
04. Matters at All - 3:51
05. Youngblood (Let It Out) - 3:33
06. Lilli Rose - 3:28
07. Giving Up - 4:43
08. For Better Or Hearse - 3:11
09. Undercover Lover - 4:29
10. Maybe Tomorrow - 3:08
11. The Morning Afterlife - 5:07
12. Hunt the Haunted - 3:45
13. Artbreaker II - 2:42
Line-up
Aled Phillips - vocals
Joel Fisher - guitar
Iain Mahanty - guitar, backing vocals
Andrew Shay - bass
Phil Jenkins - drums
Website
http://www.kidsinglasshouses.com/
Cover Picture
Rating
Music: 8
Sound: 8
Total: 8 / 10
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