Album Review :
Kristin Nicholls Band - Kristin Nicholls Band EP
Band:Kristin Nicholls Band
Title: Kristin Nicholls Band EP
Label: Independent
Release Date: 2009
Reviewer: Shawn H.
Tracklisting
- It’s OK
- Alive Again
- Stand Tall
- Gotta Be More
Mini-Biography (from MySpace):
The band’s frontman, Kristin Nicholls, was a Sound of Music Festival songwriting contest winner in 2005. His song, “Be With,” has received radio play across Canada since 2005. He has toured heavily over the last ten years, delivering his music to audiences throughout the United States, Canada, Jamaica and the Dominican Republic. He’s played everything from tiny clubs to big arena shows with audiences of about 10,000 people. Nicholls employed his skills as a VJ on a music video show five nights a week for a three-year stint, conducting interviews and functioning as an MC for concerts at various venues including the Air Canada Centre. Nicholls has shared the stage with USS (Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker), the Never Ending White Lights, Kevin Hern of the Barenaked Ladies, Liam Titcomb, Tommy Swick (Juno’s 2007 New Artist of the Year), Tal Bachman, Craig Weathery of The Odds, Jesse Valenzuela of the Gin Blossoms, Mike Turner of Our Lady Peace, Pete Lesperance of Harem Scarem, Thousand Foot Krutch, Boy, Dave Thomson of Wave, Faber Drive, Marianna’s Trench, Money Money, The Rikers, The Birthday Boys, The Black Maria, Brian Byrne of I Mother Earth and others. Dave Thomson produced Nicholls’ first solo EP; it sold more than 3,000 copies. In late 2007, Kristin Nicholls teamed up with fellow long time musicians and close friends, Luke Cronsberry, Jamie Altena, and Allen Bilston, to form a new project dubbed “Kristin Nicholls Band”.
Overall:
I’ve been a fan of Kristin’s music since his early days in a Southern Ontario band called Fear Of God (which consisted of Kristin, Jamie Altena, Laura Woodley, Allen Bilston & Cole Brown). Fear Of God disbanded soon after the turn of the millennium. It seemed that they had all went their separate ways, but it’s nice to see that Kristin recruited some of his former bandmates for this music project. Upon first listen to this EP, it’s obvious that this project is much more mature that what we were accustomed to from Kristin’s earlier days. All songs on this EP show relevancy to Kristin’s questions about his faith (& faith in general). This is almost a full 360 degree change from some of Kristin’s earlier solo demo songs, which dealt more with past relationships & broken hearts. Each song seems to come from a different influence. The opening track It’s OK seems to draw from a similar sound as Between The Trees, while Alive Again draws from a Our Lady Peace influence, & Stand Tall has a simple country-esque vibe.If this is a simple preview of something bigger for Kristin & company, then we have something great to look forward to in the second half of 2010.