Disappointments in the music world tend to be few and far between for myself, I tend to be a fairly good judge of character, or band in this instance, and good vibes I have about albums tend to be fairly well to the point. Defiance Records Gameface were a band whose album I was picking up a good feel about, but unfortunately it turned out to be the complete opposite as it proved uninspiring, below par indie pap rock.
Spanning over twelve songs, the album does on the most part feature strong music, but alas we all know this cannot simply warrant a strong album, unless you're some up your ass instrumental based band. Gameface are certainly not this, and the albums downfall proves to be the dreary and uninspiring lyrics from front man Jeff Caudill and well, frankly boring songs. In their twelth year in the business, Gameface have certainly been around the blocks and then some, but maybe this was one album to far, and begs the question how they got this far to begin with.
'This old house' opens proceedings strongly enough with thumping drums the order of the day as angst brings us into 'Four to go' well enough to keep the interest up. Unfortunately this is one of the few songs capable of holding said interest from start to finish. 'Everybody' is radio friendly rock which tries to be uplifting but simply proves patronizing. 'Four chords seven years' manages the unthinkable and makes things even more dreary, never managing to shift out of first gear and the aptly named 'When you've had enough' completes the first four songs leaving you somewhat disapproving of what you have just listened to.
So does the rest of the album offer any respite? Barely. Efforts like 'The Word' and 'Crash course in polite conversation' are both similarly uninspiring although the latter does have its moment as it breaks into a tidy chorus. 'Give me something real', 'Stop Anytime' and 'Rescue Mission' prove barely audible shining lights in the tropical storm which is 'Four to go', but by now the phrase to little to late comes to mind.
And so fifty minutes later, the uncomfortable journey ends and we are put out of our misery. Some may say I am bring incredibly hard on this album, after all, Gameface never hurt anyone, don't shit on anyone, but they have made a fucking mundane excuse of a pop-rock album. Buy this album for some your naive friends who enjoy run of the mill Kerrang esque rock music. They might enjoy it.
Jay
