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Burns Out Bright

Distance and Darkness (2004)
Deep Elm Records

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Contributed by: Scott
(others by this writer | submit your own)

Published on February 27th 2004

Awkward is the first word that comes to mind as I listen to the debut EP from Burns Out Bright. The band tries a lot of different things on this 6 song offering, but don't stick with any of them long enough to make a really lasting impression.

The bulk of the music here is your basic emo-rock sound - jangly guitars on the verses, distortion on the choruses; subdued breakdowns that crescendo into one last "rock out part," a strong tenor voice carrying each track from start to finish. It's nothing groundbreaking, but it will do.

The real problem arises when the band tries to spice the tracks up. For example, some terribly out of place screaming shows up in "Crooked Streets, Empty Skies." It kills any mood the track may have set up to that point. The same thing happens in "Our Proudest Moments" - the band is cruising along nicely, then all of the sudden some Thursday-esque chug-chug-chugs eminate from the guitar. It just doesn't work. The grossest offender is in "Prodigal," where both the screaming and the chugga chugga make a reappearance.

It's frustrating, mainly because outside of these errors, the band has put together a rather solid, if rather predictable, EP. Shades of Deep Elm's poppier acts like Brandtson shine through, and the tracks are bouncy enough to make it onto the next episode of the OC. Burns Out Bright just needs to take a step back and focus on just one direction for their band - their full length will be better for it.

MP3s
Crowded Streets, Empty Skies [full]
Our Proudest Moments [clip]
Watership Down [clip]
Twenty-Two [clip]

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soulbleed (April 19, 2005)

i like this band. deep elm rocks.

Anonymous (February 2, 2005)

not bad at all, but maybe too repetitive

Anonymous (July 3, 2004)

dude my brother is in burns out bright so for all u douche bags out there..u dont know shit about burns out bright my brother is Forset Montgomery of the band Burns out Bright n they kick ass!
lata, ryan

t-rav (March 2, 2004)

I remember that NC vs. NE thing that came out a while back....boy was that ever lame.

Anonymous (March 2, 2004)

Ahhh Deep Elm and Saddle Creek, if I had but only one bomb...

-sickboi

Anonymous (February 29, 2004)

i like this band. they are good live. their best song i think though is halo, on their last record, which i am not mistaken was released on butt lettuce records

t-rav (February 29, 2004)

...hmmmf probably stole their name from the Jazz June song of almost the same name. And what has happened to deep elm?? A label...that I know whatever they released I would enjoy it. Ehhh that was '99 so long........

Oh yeah, score is for The Jazz june

Anonymous (February 28, 2004)

i like this ep and i plan on requesting a song from it on the next radio show. so be prepared scotty too hotty.

Anonymous (February 28, 2004)

yep another shitty emo - alternative band..in a punkforum...exxactly

inagreendase (February 28, 2004)

"the tracks are bouncy enough to make it onto the next episode of the OC."

This line had me spitting double stuff Oreo all over myself.