The Eastmoor Rules,
DugongThis is Dugong, offering up a pop/emo/punk sound on a plate for you; restlessly spilling into the first song, Dugong let 'Decide to Fall' show the world they mean business, with no sympathy spared for the drum kit. Although not an excellent starting track, it manages to capture the mood to a degree, with follow up 'New Year, New Start' impoving slightly better, maintaining the thundering of pace of the first affair; vocally it may seem tetering slightly over a rough patch, but it comes through well enough.
'All Saint's Walk' is started by a pleasing melody, but for some reason the vocals don't seem to fit too well with the tune; which is a shame because the lyrics are relatively good and with a slightly better voice with them this could have been something damn good. 'Jamie's Skatepark Holiday' is a Texas is the reason 'Do you know who you are' esque instrumental interlude, and for some reason is a very pleasurable little melody; the harmonica gives it a nice little touch as well; I also found myself humming it at random moments.
As 'Where Secrets Lie' I can't help but think the vocals really do not belong with the rest of the band; they aren't definite enough and as such play second fiddle to the instruments. The song itself doesn't stand out at all, and isn't by any means surpassed by 'Keeper When Needed' which harbours it's fair share of stop start shenanigans. 'I Have My Mother's Eyes' is another instrumental, this time around four times as long as the first, and not nearly as likeable; it's progression from subdued to angst filled to subdued and the recurring child playground sample just don't do it for me i'm afraid; 'Hope St.' starts slightly more promisingly but once again the vocals seem washed out and distanced from the music; suddenly breaking down, the music takes an unexpected turn, but doesn't add much to the song.
'People like you are hard to find' continues a subdued line, and somehow the voice talent seems far more suited to this song than almost any other on here; it's successor, 'Weather Song' has an energy unseen in the rest of the record, and boy is it welcome; Dugong's forte is undoubtedly the faster material, but I can't decide whether this is because the faster music helps cover what I personally view as an average voice.
'Bang for Changes' is listenable but doesn't seem too special, as is 'Chinagraph'. 'Null and void' is by far one of the best if not the best track on here; a soft accoustic is the order of the day, and a singer who breaks free from the just about bearable performance seen in some of the other tracks and the song becomes relatively enjoyable.
I've listened to this album many times but I just cannot overcome the problem I have with the vocals; maybe you can, and if so good for you - as it is I can only give this album a resolutely average score, as nothing particularly stands out, and what does isn't enough to warrant the album a higher score.
nick
