This is an open forum for staff members, contributers, and fans alike to submit their reviews on the latest music releases and concerts. In an industry that is drowning with overprocessed, grossly overrated, unoriginal crap these days, this is our chance to allow the real stars to shine, if only on our humble, little stage; and expose you to some of our favorite talents.
Reviews are given 1 - 5 stars.
1. Reckless Abandonment
2. All Over You
3. Battles
4. The Truth
5. Saved
6. Hush Hush
7. Low Fidelity
8. Connect the Dots
9. Bleed
10. Appreciation and the Bomb
11. One Thing
12. Lullaby
Let’s cut to the chase: the Spill Canvas’ No Really, I’m Fine is mediocre.
Plain and simple. That’s it.
The most recent full-length album from the South Dakota outfit churns out emotionally-driven pop rock (yes, pop rock – just listen to “Appreciation and the Bomb” and “Lullaby”), with flashes of hard-hitting bedroom confessionals (“Bleed, Everybody’s Doing It,” “Hush Hush”) thrown into the mix, but their emotion sounds dead and stiff, like they’re just pretending to be sad. The outfit also comes off as extremely whiny, especially on “All Over You” when vocalist/guitarist Nick Thomas sings: “I am easily make believe/Just dress me up in what you want me to be./I’ll take back what I’ve been saying for quite some time now.” It’s like they’re crying at a sunset.
Here’s a plus: the production on No Really, I’m Fine is clean and tight, smooth even, and the musicians know what they’re doing, but it sounds just too perfect, especially for a bunch of cats that seem to wear their hearts on their sleeves. What ever happened to getting dirty, messy, crying to the point where your face is all distorted and no one wants to go near you? For these boys to really succeeded, they need to be that person, because a studio/radio friendly album take a band will take you but so far.
Reviewed by: Annamarya Scaccia | November 2007
