Band: Ivoryline
Title: There Came A Lion
Label: Tooth & Nail
Released: 2/5/2008
Review By: JoshIVM
Tracklisting:
01. Days End
02. We Both Know
03. Parade
04. All You Ever Hear
05. Be Still And Breathe
06. Remind Me I’m Alive
07. Left Us Falling
08. And The Truth
09. Bravery
10. Hearts And Minds
11. The Last Word
Members/Duties:
Scott Socia: Guitar
Jeremy Gray: Vocals Wes Hard: Drums
Robert Woodward: Bass
Dusty Kittle: Guitar
Ivoryline is one of the many new signings that the Tooth & Nail empire will be releasing upon the masses this year. Many people have voiced their negative opinions on the signings over the past few years, though I am not one of them. In fact, I have found many of Tooth & Nail’s recent releases to be quite enjoyable. With Ivoryline the comparisons with other bands will undoubtedly come, with bands like Anberlin topping most lists. The Nail has quite a few bands that produce a similar style of music though, so I will not hold that against the band.
The vocalist is what kept me listening to this release. The music has definitely been done before, which again to me isn’t a bad thing. If I like a certain sound I don’t mind bands sounding similar, but his vocals are the highlight, hands down. This isn’t to say that the rest of the band are worthless for they certainly do an impressive job backing him up with solidly crafted songs, but if they had a different vocalist I’d probably pass this group by. The majority of the disc is filled with rocky verses and big, sing along choruses. Each song is upbeat even though I was hoping for some slower more ballad-like tracks at some point. The band is catchy however. Not as catchy as an Anberlin or some of Emery’s songs, but those choruses will probably still hook you. My biggest complaint is that the songs don’t really have a great deal of variation and you get the same type of song each time. This is definitely a fix that will probably occur on the band’s sophmore release as they grow. As can be expected with any Tooth & Nail release the production is top notch and everything fits perfectly.
Overall Rating: I had really high hopes for this album and maybe that was the problem. I set the bar too high for a debut. There Came A Lion is by no means a bad album but it isn’t what I’d hoped for either. It offers up a decent serving a anthemic rock songs but it felt like something was missing. I’m hoping that through more listens it will grow more on me. To sum it up, if you are looking for an album with more of that Tooth & Nail sound this album is definitely for you. (7/10)
Standout Tracks: “Days End”, “Be Still And Breathe”
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