Band: The Drama Summer
Title: Make A Move (EP)
Label: Eulogy
Release Date: 7/25/06
Review By: Josh IndieVision
Tracklisting:
01. We Make Rejection Look Beautiful
02. Starting Over
03. Don’t Go
04. Thunder Bay
Members/Duties:
Nick Moore: Vocals
Kevin Bodnar: Bass/Vocals
Jim Nahorny: Guitar
Anthony Damschroder: Guitar/Vocals
John Puro: Drums
The Drama Summer have been floating under the radar for a few years now. They formed in Ohio and have been recording multiple demos and doing lots of touring since. Not too long ago they signed up with Eulogy Recordings. This is Eulogy’s attempt at varying styles even more for there is nothing heavy about The Drama Summer. They are a band filled with poppy melody, catchy singalongs, and overall entertaining musical approach. The album was produced by Steve Soboslai of the band Punchline, and really is a foretaste of an upcoming full length record in the works.
“We Make Rejection Look Beautiful” starts off with a rockin guitar riff but quickly loses me when the vocals kick in. Once I got used to the approach then it was ok and I could focus more on the track. “Starting Over” shows a softer side of the group for a bit then jumps back into a rockier sound. This track contains a catchy chorus (“We’re singing along, to the sounds of the screams that no one thought would ever care”)
The second half of the EP is far better than the first two tracks. “Don’t Go” mellows out even more. “Thunder Bay” is catchier than the rest of the songs, although following a similar pattern. It is a bit more upbeat and catchier and I think they should attempt to lean more toward the punkish feel of this song than the rest of the tracks.
Standout Tracks:
“Don’t Go”, “Starting Over”
Overall Rating: A short album containing 4 quite catchy and fun tracks to listen to. It allowed me to get the basic vibe of what this band is about. Unfortunately in this overflowing genre I’m not sure they’ll be able to catch the attention of many of the fans that like melodic, poppy rock.
Individual Ratings:
Album Art/Design: Very small and basic booklet. Nothing too catchy or appealing to the eye.
Lyrics: Most songs seemed to me, to be dealing with the typical topic of relationships. While not badly written, I’d like to see some more variance here. All lyrics included.
Marketability: Again, the market is definitely there, but whether the Drama Summer can truly shine out amidst the rest is debatable to me. They wont do it with this EP, but possibly may make more waves with their upcoming full length.
Production: I wasn’t impressed with this recording. To me it sounded more like a demo than a label recording. Some of the mixing is off (bass too loud at times, while others are too quiet, etc)
Vocals: Nick has the popular, whiny sounding vocal. Most of the time it sounds decent but occassionally doesn’t quite hit the notes. In a genre like this that’s going to be a popularity killer. The recordings have to be done top notch, even if the vocalist can’t sing a lick. (We all know there are plenty of those bands out there).
Similar To: Mae, Hawthorne Heights
Website
Myspace
Purevolume
Eulogy Recordings
Buy:
Eulogy Store