This Afternoon

This Afternoon hail from Syracuse, NY, and most of it's members already had musical experiences prior to this. Having released a debut album independently to much acclaim of local media has earned them a place in the top ten of releases for that year, a first time ever for a band in the punk genre. The follow-up to that debut album was a 4 song counting ep released through a small indie label in limited amounts that sould out completely in a matter of weeks. This very release was produced by none other than Chris Gibson (Glassjaw, CIV, Agnostic Front, ...) and mastered by Alan Douches (Saves The Day, Promise Ring, Snapcase, SOIA, ...) and is bound to weave another succesfull chapter to their careers.

Nothing is as hard as reviewing a CD you don't like, and i must admit that i didn't quite like this one at first. Luckily, i gave myself the chance to let this album grow on me. If This Afternoon would be a river, you'd be swimming in it on a sunshiny day at first, having fun without making it one of those unforgettable days. That is untill the river unexpectedly turns into a fierce monster with river rapids about every corner, their vortexes dragging you under and leaving you gasping for air time and time again. Because those feelings are what This Afternoon evoke on yours truly. They just leave me breathless on numerous occasions.

But anyways, let's get back to the essence here and talk about what music TA plays. Well, i only have two words for you: Indie Rock with a lot of "EMO" influences (what do you mean, those are not two words?). Musically, they remind me of bands like Brandston, Texas Is The Reason, Long Since Forgotten, Time To Fly, Something Corporate and such. That means you can expect to get treated on some heartfelt vocals that drip with emotion like a fat greasy pig that has been roasting over a fire for a coupple of hours, catchy driving hooks, clever intelligent lyrics, beautifully crafted midtempo instrumental parts and the prominent musical ability to combine the best elements of indie rock and current "emo" touches within the punk community to a whole that sounds fresh, exciting and is bound to move you in ways you never imagined (you're allowed to cry when listening to TA, even if you are male!). It is kind of strange to find a band of this amplitude signed to a local label just across the Belgian border, but credit goes out to Emplane Music for this one. I only wished a label in Europe would concentrate on European bands also, but i guess it must be hard.

So does this album have it's faults then? It sure does, as some songs are stretched too long when you really start listening to the album and the songs seem to slow down as the album progresses, which makes me grab back to the first songs all the time and refrain me from exploring the other songs in full depth. But this makes for some great soothing music in the background i can assure you. I warn you up front though: The more you listen to this little marvel the more the lyrics will sweep you away, and the more you'll get drawn into their music. So if there's anything you need to do before you fall a slave to this release, best do it now.