Pop tinged Punk Rock heartthrobs ADAKAIN keep the dream alive with ‘Silhouette of Lies’, a six track EP with admirable hopes and a whole freight of ambition.
Working the grind since 2008, the Dallas troupe eked by without much fuss, but in the wake of new singer Travis Buck that looks set to change. From the first play of opener ‘Sky is Falling’ it’s obvious there is something special about ADAKAIN, first rate songwriting and production are key but it’s Buck that truly shines. There’s a powerful edge to his pitch perfect vocals that dominate the tracks with refreshing melody.
There is a flip side to this however. With a distinctively polished performance, the band frequently find themselves falling into pop cliches and at times, they sound not unlike the Jonas Brothers had they hit the distortion pedal by mistake. At other times though, it’s the complete opposite – the industrial dabble at the beginning of ‘Good time girl’ starts promising and would probably have paid off to see the band commit to the idea, while the heaviest track ‘In the Shadows’ balances the band’s music styles perfectly. Though ‘Silhouette of Lies’ doesn’t nail it completely, it’s certainly a very strong do over for the band and a fine listen for the rest of us.
JOSEPH HOLYOME