Another Drive Thru/Rushmore signing, this time it’s a former DTR employee getting in on the act. In short, A Day At The Fair are a pretty average band – at times they come across like Alkaline Trio or Bayside (‘Who You Guna Believe, Me Or Your Lying Eyes‘), while at others they come across like a very bland alternative rock band determined to get themselves some radio airplay (This Is Why We Don’t Have Nice Things’). Over the course of 14 songs you’re left switching opinions – at times the band do sound as though they have a bit of something about them, but all to often they lack balls and bite and the nice melodies come off as being bland and uninspiring.
Drive Thru, in my opinion, is a great record label that has signed some fantastic bands. A label that has bent over backwards to try and expand and vary their roster, A Day At The Fair don’t really sound like any of the bands – although the good quality production certainly lends itself to being lumped in with that whole ‘Drive Thru sound’ everyone seems to bang on about. But it’s the songs that matter – which unfortunately for A Day At The Fair is a problem. While ‘Pale In Comparison’ is pretty good, songs like ‘Coda’ are horribly basic. And that’s the problem – the band just can’t nail a consistent sound they feel comfortable with. The Matt Skiba-esque vocals that adorn ‘The Blame Anxiety’ probably show ADATF in their best light, but all too often there’s a lack of a killer hook, something their record label are famed for.
www.adayatthefair.com
Drive Thru/Rushmore
Paul