Us, From Outside – Inspired By The Threat Of Failure
If one was to look back at the past 60 years or so in the music industry to determine what was the common factor between highly successful artists, one would not find that is was Metallica’s live show. One would not find that it was Led Zeppelin’s label or merchandise line. One would not even find that success was derived from Queen’s advertising. No, the one factor of massive success in the music industry is this: originality. It’s the judge, jury, and in some cases where there is lack thereof, the executioner. Us, From Outside falls victim to this pitfall of creativity, releasing an album that should, unfortunately, be given an award for languishing monotony.
Signed in 2009 to Tragic Hero, this Philadelphia six-piece had the privilege of being produced by Joey Sturgis, (The Devil Wears Prada, A Plea For Purging, and others) but despite the talented producer, Us, From Outside’s Inspired By The Threat Of Failure is just another “meh” piece. Its unoriginal sound mimics bands such as A Skylit Drive and The Devil Wears Prada. The band falls short showing skilled musicianship, and merely delivers a run-of-the-mill performance.
Inspired By The Threat Of Failure begins with “Who Saves The Savior?”, a track which could be debated as the strongest on the album, but that’s not saying much. Drummer Jacob Castro simply beats away pop-punk beats while keeping the double bass rolling, giving an all-in-all uninspiring sound to the track. Conversely, vocalist Michael Crimlis brings to the table a decent voice to an extremely catchy chorus which had me singing along quickly. The exceptional refrain however is forgotten when keyboard/screamer Tommy Sawyer tears in with a less than exciting yell which is unable to meld with the rest of the music. However, Sawyer’s piano work is quite flawless, livening up tracks and creating a beautiful tone.
Tracks such as “Where’s My Chippy? There’s My Chippy”, “I’m Not Locked In Here With You, You’re Trapped In Here With Me”, “I Am The Divine”, and “I’m Not Opposed To Gettin’ Hit” convey grey, unexciting, and largely boring sounds with the occasional few seconds of originality mixed in. Again, I give some props to “Where’s My Chippy? There’s My Chippy!” for a mildly catchy chorus, but other than that, there is really nothing to smile about with these tracks. Guitarists Ronny August and James Steiner lay down exhausted riffs while bassist Kenny Davis follows closely.
Thankfully, there are a handful of moments where Us, From Outside show promise. During “I Will Smash Your Face In =)”, Sawyer begins the track with a floating and skilled piano melody. He again shows his prowess in “I Should Be Dead Right Now” and briefly again in “Smile Princess, You’re Perfect”. Also during the latter, Michael brings a bit of variety into his vocals, creating a sound that shows quick flashes of originality. But this is all for naught as soon as Sawyer starts attempting to scream again, especially on songs such as “No Ash, No Phoenix” and “The Honesty In Shadows And Reflections”. The band attempts to meld his scream with Michael’s soaring vocals, but failing miserably.
If the band can rethink the way they compose songs, Us, From Outside may be able to save themselves from being condemned as just another generic band. The guitar riffs are boring and monotonous, drumming is in the doldrums, and the few parts which are interesting and colorful are quickly torn to pieces by Sawyer’s out-of-place screaming. Regrettably, Inspired By The Threat Of Failure is not inspiring at all, and merely adds more fatigue to an already exhausted genre.
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16 Comments
June 8th, 2010 at 8:45 pm
"less than exciting yell" is an accurate depiction hehe. good work, bro. i will NOT buy this hehe.
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June 8th, 2010 at 8:48 pm
Nice review, Anthony. I couldn't agree more. The amount of monotony in this genre is overwhelming and tiresome. Instead of jumping into the scene and trying to stir up something original, so many bands are happy with a sound that has been heard numerous times prior.
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June 8th, 2010 at 8:57 pm
I guess I will be the first to correct Mr. Gannaio. It is not "Joey Sturges". It is Joey Sturgis. I pretty much stopped reading at that point. Sorry……
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June 8th, 2010 at 9:14 pm
I fixed the error. I edited the review, so it got by me too. Everybody makes mistakes. It is seriously NOT a big deal.
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June 8th, 2010 at 9:18 pm
Thanks for the comments, guys.
And @jakester0403 thank you for pointing that out. My bad.
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June 8th, 2010 at 9:25 pm
Its kind of a big deal. Not life altering but when reviewing music you need to be aware of the producers and the people behind the scenes. If you dont know the producer and butcher their name, its a blow to your credibility especially given that you are reviewing the work they produced. Im not trying to start an argument. Im just saying that when you review music and you want people to believe your credibility you need to get that right. Thats all im saying. If its a typo than its NOT a big deal, but how are we to know that. I will take you at your word Jen.
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June 8th, 2010 at 9:31 pm
@ Anthony Gannaio anytime dude. I aint mad ya!! I was just pointing that out. As Jen said, its NOT a big deal as long as it was a typo. It sounds like thats what it was. Joey is a hell of a producer!!!! I just didnt want him getting butchered. Thats all.
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June 8th, 2010 at 9:33 pm
Well, due to the fact that I provided examples of other bands he's produced, I would say that the question of my credibility versus a simple typo need not be asked.
But you're right, no argument needed, and I truly appreciate your concern for correctness.
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June 8th, 2010 at 9:35 pm
In the wise words of Forrest Gump, "it happens".
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June 8th, 2010 at 9:42 pm
Its all good Anthony!! Your point is well taken. You did mention other bands he produced. I can admit my mistake there and after reading your review and listening to the samples I must agree with your review. They do sound a bit generic and just like a lot of bands already out there. Theres nothing that screams out to me that they offer anything unique that would make me purchase this album. I had never heard of them until now and maybe its better that I didnt. Just another ho hum band to help saturate this genre.
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June 8th, 2010 at 9:46 pm
@jakester0403 Absolutely, bro. That was just my whole feeling after spinning the record a few times. It was just collectively blah sound that really doesn't appeal at all. Thanks for the comment!
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July 30th, 2010 at 12:51 am
I do like this album. This band has potential. It just feels like the screams are CONSTANTLY competing with the clean vocals and it really takes away from it. Tell the man to play the keys and leave the vocals to Mike, eh? If I could i would just take the screamer's vocal track out of the songs altogether. i would enjoy the album a lot more.
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December 16th, 2010 at 12:29 pm
I honestly really liked this CD.
I agree, when you compare it to The Devil Wears Prada.
I more listen to it for the lyrical purposes.
But everyone has their opinion.
Mine is just that I overall really enjoyed the CD.
No regrets on buying it.
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December 30th, 2010 at 6:33 pm
He again shows his prowess in “I Should Be Dead Right Now”
Do you mean "I Thought I'd be Dead by Now"? I dont see I should be dead right now as a song. And is it I'd be Dead or You'd be Dead, ive seen it both ways and was wondering which is right
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April 16th, 2011 at 7:21 pm
Just found this band out, and I really like this record.
The cleans are awesomeawesomeawesome.
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Nicholas Misiak replied:
April 17th, 2011 at 2:42 am
I'm with you Max. I am a sucker for this band and have been spinning this CD on a frequent basis since its release. If you like these guys you will love the band Ghosts in the Machine.
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