Tokyo Rose
It seems this New Jersey pop/rock band has had a fairly nice run of things in the last four or five years, with CDs in 2003 ( Reinventing A Lost Art), 2005 (New American Saint) and the most recent 2007 offering (The Promise In Compromise). The crisp rock style of Tokyo Rose has been reasonably popular in this period, but still the new CD is partly a reaction to the unkept promises we find around us everyday.
On their Web sites and in interviews, band members have expressed the disappointment in some of their music industry experiences. Yet, the new CD is not a screaming/growling angry collection. In fact, "Right As Rain" has some nice guitar breathers in it and is quite melodic. Overall, the band’s sound is still crisp, with a tight snare beat on this tune.
"A Pound Of Silver" is not noticeably different in style or finished sound, while "Less Than Four" has a more attention-getting start. The rhythm in this tune is up a notch and that’s OK. There is also a bit more guitar exhibition here. The bass work on "611 Life Lesson" is good, though the band settles into the meat of the song and "611 Life Lesson" is similar to the first-mentioned tunes.
"We Can Be Best Friends Tonight" may be the most noticeable/memorable song because of the real difference in sound. There is some good drumming here, such as with the shuffle beat. Current band members are Ryan Dominguez (vocals/guitar), Chris Poulsen (bass), Jake Margolis (drums). The group has had numerous line-up changes since its inception in 1999.
The group’s "sound" is not surprising, considering influences of jimmy eat world, fall out boy, taking back Sunday. A lengthy tour continues through January and part of February, covering a good portion of the eastern U.S.
Tags: independent music, music, indie, tokyo rose, indie music
Interesting to hear about thier disappointments. You generally do not have bands talking about that. I think it is good to be able to state what you can and not to be afraid to admit things such as this. It helps your current and future fans to understand where you are coming from and will help to provide a better basis for your music.
“We can be Best Friends” is definitely one of their notable tunes, in my opinion as well. What I really like about this band is the instrumentals, especially the lead guitar. Not that it is nothing new for artists be disappointed in the industry experience, but I wonder what exactly went the wrong way for them?
now, I actually have heard of these guys before, though never of their music. I gotta say that the songs on their Myspace are all pretty catchy without being annoying. I think their best point is the fact that the singer doesn’t have that voice that can sound whiny. I find that a lot of guy bands have perfected themselves in the whiny voice, but the singers seem to lower their voices to keep from joining that cliche.
Silver_Song, I could not have said that better myself. These whiny vocals as of late has overworked my nerves. Everywhere you turn, you hear it, that same kind of high pitched, nasally “whine”. This band, fortunately, leans away from the following-like-sheep nasal lead vocals.
Ah. Yes. The “whine is in” trend does get tiresome after a while.
So, as a matter a fact, does the “angry rant and growl” bit, too.
You have to admire a group that (a) doesn’t follow musical trends just to fit in, and (b) makes historical allusions in its band name choice.
Yeah Fardreamer, that “growl” and “scream-o” sound is just not for me either. These guys are pretty fresh, maybe not a band that will become a personal favorite, but definitely unique enough to stand out from the crowd.
As someone who has heard different styles of music over the years, I will concede that the “growl” and “scream-o” sound has its place at times. And so does some “heartfelt lamentation,” or whine-is-in….But it’s not exactly pleasant to be bombarded by either on a regular basis.
Which is why I think Tokyo Rose is such a delightful change of pace. The group might not, as Leighdu says, become a “must-hear-constantly” favorite, but it does have creativity on its side.
Some people limit their musical taste to only “scream-o” type music. In fact a friend of mine says that any music in any other genre is “gay”. Not to knock anyones taste, but I just don’t see how one can listen to that type music day in and day out.
Leighdu - What? There’s actually someone who classifies music that’s not growled, yelled, or grunted as “gay”? How unenlightened this friend of yours is, musically speaking. He’d probably think I’m gay because I listen to soft rock, easy listening, and classical music, then.
Yes, I agree with you. It is almost unbearable to listen to any other genre of music around him, because we constantly have to hear how “gay” any kind of music is except hardcore metal and scream-o.
There are lot of people like that, listening to a one and only kind of music in his own life. They are really annoying because they will say “it’s gay” when other music plays. They will say when someone wants to hear a rock song. For him the only best song are the hardcore metals with heavy distortion of guitar and a devilish voice. How immature.
The music by this band is likable and lyrics are audible.The music is fantastic it is awesome.I think they have already long list of fans and I have been added to the list recently.The instruments are blending well with one another.Good job by the artists of the band, they need to keep it up.