Gods Of Music Review
Review For ‘No Stars Left In NJ’
from Craig Christo at Gods Of Music| MIND BLOWING. ONE OF THE BEST TRACKS EVER. It is extremely rare for an indie band or artist to come out of nowhere with a song so powerful and effective that it blows a reviewer practically out of his or her chair. There always seems to be something that holds the song back, whether it is inane lyrics, low recording quality, poor post-production or something else. Well, the central New Jersey band The Stand In have blown this reviewer out of his seat with their song No Stars Left in NJ. It has the nearly perfect mix of energy, beauty, lyrics, melody, and recording quality that makes listening to it such a rare and wonderful experience. The plethora of pop-punk/emo bands that have flooded the airwaves of radio and MTV lately often bring with them overly-maudlin and embarrassingly cheesy lyrics, or hackneyed, sophomoric drivel about longing and relationships. While this song has aspects of pop-punk and what is now thought of as emo, what sets this apart from those genres are the solid lyrics and inventive song structure, not to mention the song’s sheer beauty and extreme catchiness. The Stand In do pack their lyrics with heart-felt emotion but they, thankfully, do not riddle their songs with clichés. Instead, they are able to express themselves honestly with lyrics that are more abstract and make one think a little more than the average pop-punk or emo band’s obvious, and occasionally forced, over-sentimentality. The lyrics here are not so abstract that they make no sense (like At the Drive-In or The Mars Volta), though, so they are still quite accessible, without losing any of their impact. For example: “We dream in color/to forget light/sometimes I forget tonight.” But it is not the lyrics that make this song truly special; it is the music. The song starts out with two guitars that are panned to opposite sides, quite effectively creating a sort of ‘dueling’ atmosphere. They are crisp in sound and very reminiscent of something that might be found on an album by the band No Knife. After the short intro, the drums kick in and then the guitars switch to a punkier texture with plenty of distortion and a solid bass underpinning. After a couple verses and choruses, there is a wonderful moment when everything nearly drifts to a stop and then a beautiful phased guitar comes in, followed by the rest of the instruments, which all start out slow and pick up steam in a perfect build that closes the song in an intense cacophony of instrumental prowess. The recording quality is nearly flawless. It is very clear sounding and well-mixed and balanced, but not so over-produced that it loses its energy, which is something that many of today’s popular bands do (i.e. Finch, 30 Seconds to Mars, etc.). The vocals are probably the most prominent part, but not at the expense of the other instruments. With their song No Stars Left in NJ, The Stand In have shown that they have the talent to make it big. Their sound would most likely appeal to fans of bands that have recently become popular due to the trends in popular music (Jimmy Eat World, Dashboard Confessional, Saves the Day, etc.), but they have more depth and less cheesiness. The Stand In truly do deserve success, and although the wretched state of the music business - which often punishes originality and rewards vanity and shallowness - may not allow it, it would be a shame if they are not at least recognized for what they are – an excellent band. |
Technical Skill: 9.00
Structure: 9.50
Interest: 9.50
Melody: 10.00
Lyrics: 9.00
Performance: 9.50
Arrangement: 9.50
Recording Quality: 9.00
Long Term Appeal: 9.50
OVERALL: 9.40