I Ate Your Microphone

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.

Tokyo Rose at MySpace

Tags: indie music, independent music, tokyo rose, indie, music

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Tags: indie music, music, independent music, indie