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Bottom Line
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Eloquence
Nice Guy Records
Release: 5/31/2005
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Rated:
Review by:
Meagan Rockne
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Do you remember what you were doing in high school?
Trying to pass algebra, wondering if you were going to prom
or if you would finally hook up with your crush over the
summer? For the Cincinnati, Ohio quartet, Bottom Line, their
high school experience was marked with a tour in Japan with
Midtown, dates with the Vans Warped Tour and opening for
Dashboard Confessional, Something Corporate and Brand
New.
Yes, that's right, Bottom Line are your quintessential
pop-punk band and their new album,
Eloquence, does not deviate from the
commercial-ready formula. The vocals, the guitar riffs, and
the melodies - they all sound like every other band on the
market. The only thing that sets them apart is their lyrics.
They aren't writing songs about getting drunk and partying
or about the evils of girls. They do have songs about
unrequited love, but they are more heartfelt than
hateful.
With their baby faced good looks and catchy songs, this is a
band that is destined for MTV. Their songs are simple,
catchy and energetic. It's very rare that you find a record
where each song could be a radio hit. It's one of the few
CDs in my collection that I don't find myself flipping through
songs or playing my favorites when I first put it in. This
could be because there is little musical deviation from one
song to the next. My favorite song on the album is number
eight, "Somewhere in Between." It's a heartfelt ballad about
finding love at the wrong time and hoping it will still be there
in the future.
After the first listen, you feel like you've listened to the
album for years. I don't know if it's because of the generic
quality of their sound or if it's because their songs are so
damn catchy. But I do have one major concern about their
album. After the first listen, I was left wondering if the boys
of Bottom Line have actual talent or if they have a really
good producer on board that made them sound good. I
don't know if it's just me, but there seems to be a wave of
new bands that sound amazing on their CD and then in a live
performance they sound like crap. I can't tell if Bottom Line
is one of those bands.
I really did enjoy the CD, however critical I may be about
their sound. Of course they aren't reinventing the pop-punk
genre, but they do add a little something to it.
Eloquence is a CD full of catchy, sing-along
songs about issues most young adults can relate to. The
album didn't blow me away, but it has piqued my interest in
their future musical endeavors. |
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