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Trapped in the indie rock world is a quality that drives some bands too far over their individual creative boundaries to be able to put together solid rock tunes. Thankfully, The Kite-Eating Tree differentiate themselves simply by crafting solid, driving rock 'n roll with just enough raw overtones to elicit slapping them with the aforementioned label.

The band's pairing of crunchy guitars with intricate vocal interplay are consistent throughout the ten tracks. Keeping this up for each song prevents a dull moment from ever happening, which is normally common for debut full-lengths. In the back, the drums are precise and cause quite the head-swaying motions for a listener. Overall, the sound is definitely reminiscent of the early-90s recordings Dave Grohl made that came to be known as the Foo Fighters' self-titled debut.

One strange thing about the disc is the fact that with all the songs being generally solid rock tunes, none of the tracks really stand out. Of course, if one or two tracks stood out, I'd be sitting here saying this is 80% filler, knowing what potential they hold in the talent exuded in these hypothetical songs.

The lyrics are vague yet introspective, using odd, hypothetical situations heavy on personification. They stray from mindless, radio-rock anthems by way of this and the application of many physical things not usually mentioned here and there (butterscotch, footwear, temperature gauges) without being weird about it.

In other words, this is a solid rock album, but the future likely holds greater things. You should expect just that in the next few years.

MP3s
"Sighs of the Curator"
"Lucifer Employed"



People who liked this also liked:
Minus the Bear - They Make Beer Commercials Like This [reissue]Scream Hello - Smart & StupidFahrenheit 451 - If I Knew Then What I Know Now: The Complete Discography [CD/DVD]Velveteen - Home WatersAn Horse - Not Really ScaredTides / Giant - SplitFoals - AntidotesAntlers - AntlersI Rise - DownHour of the Wolf / Lewd Acts - Split



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    Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, October 31, 2004 at 4:21 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    Not only does the lead the singer have great vocals, he is the "King" at dancing! Just a warning for those of you who will be lucky enough to see them live, beware of the "Cowboy" flying into the drums. These guys rock and we wish them all the success they deserve!!
    Love, "The Catholic School Girls"
    Happy Halloween!

    Posted by notfeelingcreative on 2004-04-08 23:07:31
    My Score:

    I'm not too into emo, but I dig this!

    Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, March 28, 2004 at 8:04 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    for those saying the band's name is stupid, it is a reference to Charles Schulz's "Peanuts" which fequently had Charlie Brown having to deal with a tree that ate his kite every time he tried to fly one

    Posted by tsunami_boy on 2004-03-28 18:55:14
    My Score:

    great name for a band. and the music ain't bad.

    Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, March 25, 2004 at 8:07 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    "Yeah where is the second Rival Schools disc anyhow? They just vanished."

    They broke up.

    Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, March 25, 2004 at 7:58 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    Yeah where is the second Rival Schools disc anyhow? They just vanished.

    Barkley

    Posted by Romeo on 2004-03-25 19:00:08
    My Score:

    These names are out of control, my new bands called I Burnt My Lip on Coffee, check us out.

    Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, March 25, 2004 at 6:34 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    Yeah i was at the record release party for this band at sea level records, seen them a couple times, once in fullerton and once before at the troubador, they do a great job live, i find them to be not so much "bang bang wow i need this album" but the music will defintaely grow on you and you will soon feel compelled to buy it, its addicting, something you could probably listen to about three or four times before wodering if you should change the disk.

    Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, March 25, 2004 at 2:32 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    what the hell kind of name is that? fuck drive thru.

    --the movielife

    Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, March 25, 2004 at 2:29 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    Is the production worse than PMFS Fuck With Fire? That has to be one of the shittiest sounding cds ever. (Not the band, the production)

    Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, March 25, 2004 at 1:22 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    Best name ever.

    Posted by mrwaffles on 2004-03-24 15:27:43
    My Score:

    This is good, but i hear nothing in common with foo fighters

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, March 23, 2004 at 9:31 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    I remember finding about these guys off of mp3.com and loving them maybe theyre still as good as a remember them being after all that was awhile ago.

    Posted by pastepunk on 2004-03-23 14:28:27
    My Score:

    If you were anticapting the second Rival Schools release, which will not apparently ever exist, this disc is a worthy substitute!

    Posted by inagreendase on 2004-03-23 12:11:54
    My Score:

    "In the back, the rums are precise and cause quite the head-swaying motions for a listener. Overall, the sound is definitely reminiscent of the early-90s recordings Dave Grohl made that came to the Foo Fighters' self-titled debut."

    Typo roundup:

    rums = drums
    came to the = came to be known as the

    Posted by hhkal on 2004-03-23 12:11:10
    My Score:

    Killing Tree > Kite-eating Tree

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, March 23, 2004 at 12:10 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    nice review dude.

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, March 23, 2004 at 11:22 AM (EST)
    My Score:

    reminds me of moneen

    Posted by maverick on 2004-03-23 10:42:16
    My Score:

    Yeah, you pretty much nailed it. This album is fun and unique, but the production brings it down quite a few notches. Definitely worth a listen, and you should probably keep your eyes on them.

    -Scott

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