SETTLE “At Home We Are Tourists”
If BRAND NEW crammed their debut album with dance beats and noise, it would sound something like SETTLE’s At Home We Are Tourists. SETTLE melds big hooks and guitar distortion with techno keyboard riffs, and chaotic static bursts. There’s some real talent on SETTLE’s Epitaph debut, but it’s marred by an overkill of parts and stylistic changes. The cliche less is more would have benefited this release greatly. There’s so much stuffed into At Home…‘s 12 tracks, some of them were bound to hit me just right. “Dance Rock is The New Pasture,” despite the stupid title, is an AT THE DRIVE-IN inspired thrasher that actually rocks pretty hard, and “Affinity For My Hometown” features the nice, homesick line, “When I die / Just bury me in the back yard.” SETTLE delivers moments of greatness, giving me hope for the band’s down-the-road sophomore release. On the other hand, SETTLE is a conflicted entity. At Home… suffers from debut album ambition, never falling into one groove or another. “Sunday, Morning After” is a breezy acoustic pop tune, while “Kick,Win!” blends TOOL-esque shreddery with BLINK 182 catchiness. At Home… is overburdened with variation, making the album feel rushed and incoherent. Also the band’s closing track is called “Into the Mind of Those Who Commit Desperate Acts While Under the Influence of Others;” you’re naming a tune guys, not writing an english essay. Unnecessarily long song titles are only a minor annoyance, but in SETTLE’s case, it is yet another example of a band that needs to trim the fat.
Epitaph
