Born of the music scene in Brooklyn, the duo of Jarrod Gorbel (vocals and guitar) and Aaron Kamstra (bass, keyboard) have created a pretty diverse album that’s two parts good, one part okay! Anything Else but the Truth is the band’s sophomore album that though is an indie rocker in the end, gently strays frequently from one category to the next. Songs like “Points Underneath” and “Anything Else but the Truth” pull their influences from the vocal styling of Elvis Costello and then take a detour into the emo direction.
Gorbel’s voice swoons over slow tracks like “Revealing Too Much” while Kamstra’s keyboards sparsely wash over each song. The album at first listens like just another indie record, but after a few listens turns well-choreographed. Though not spectacular by any means, these guys have a lot of potential and their strongest points lie in Gobel’s vocals and Kamstra’s ability to play around that, creating songs that have a gentle feel. Although their influences are pretty obvious though seemingly unapologetic, they don’t stray that far into being “that guy they are influenced by,” rather stack that in their favor at times. The album’s a good listen that though conjures up well constructed verses, dryly sarcastic lyrics and some nicely put together songs, get’s lost at times in sounding like everyone else but the Honorary title. But give these guys some time and keep an eye on where they are heading musically because there’s nowhere else to go but up! |