TRACK REVIEW: White Sands – The Wait
Courtesy of Carsten Petersen – the guy you don´t want at your alcohol induced party
★★★
The life of a reviewer is always full of challenges. You see? Yet again I have to come up with another crappy opening paragraph for another damn review. And this time, I will not review a whole album but only one single song. The track in question is ‘The Wait’ from a band that calls itself White Sands, a young trio from the US that follows the footsteps of 80’s post punk bands and American underground. Having already gained some experiences in other bands, these two dudes and one girl decided to just give it a try.
To get an idea of how this young band sounds, just imagine the usual noisy, fast and up to the point guitar riffs with an actually pretty poppy, soothing singing voice. Not as sloppy as Joey Ramone but the pop-friendly appeal is there. No bloody screaming, no screeching, no metal-like growling involved that remind us of Dinosaur Jr. The music will give you all the crashing feel you desire while the singing will ensure that the more sensitive characters will not get nightmares for the next two weeks. A lose but steady drum beat compliments the picture. So, although the track features rather introspective and almost sorrowful lyrics, the music altogether seems to be more of a loosened up affair.
To be honest, as nice as the band sounds and as much as it is likely that it will rock one or two pubs with its direct, uncomplicated approach, I really do not see how tracks like ‘The Wait’ are gonna be any different than a thousand or so other post punk-esque/noise pop bands this world has seen in the last 20 something years. As for now, the music and the vocals just lack that certain spark or punch that will make sure you will not confuse these talented folks with those garage buddies of yours that were just ruining your sleep last night, rocking an alcohol induced around the corner .
All in all, this is young band definitely shows promise but has yet to find a voice, a sound, a feeling. So what is left for me to say but ‘Go for it, guys!’. The world of music is full of possibilities, even in the limited world of a starting band with few financial resources. Use them and come to my next party.
‘The Wait’ is set to be released as a 7” flexidisc accompanied by a zine put together by the band / 3 track digi-single. Art Is Hard elected to release music on this format due to frustration with the cost of a standard 7” release and a desire to create a package worth owning.
The release is ltd to 300 copies and set to be released through Art Is Hard on the 6th October. Pre-order is available from http://artishardrecords.
