Punknews.orgPunknews.org Logo
Suburban Home Records -- Drag the River
Suburban Home Records
Review Navigator

BackForward

Features

 

Contests

 




Reviews

Bad Religion - New Maps of Hell (Deluxe)
Register to Vote: Rock the Vote, powered by Credo Mobile

Harvey Danger

Little by Little...
2005
Phonographic

Harvey Danger - Little by Little... (Cover Artwork)


Review by: RyanM
See others by this writer

Official Site (link)

Only registered users
can post comments

Print this Review Send this Review to a Friend

Published on January 27th 2006

Harvey Danger may not be attempting anything remarkably different, but they show plenty of aptitude for playing immediately catchy and pleasing music that tends to draw listeners in with hooks, light-hearted, quirky piano play and excellent vocals. Their approach now focuses more appropriately on pop structures and a whole lot more keyboard (used well throughout the album, too), which makes some of the songs incredibly catchy (perhaps ironic now that they’ve moved away from the major label) without seeming too overproduced. The most noticeable flaw is the drop off in the later stages of the album, where they simply cannot maintain the same level as through the much better first half.

The production value has been upped for Little, which helps the change in emphasis in the music; and while it allows room for more aggressive parts, (“Cream and Bastards Rise”) it also scores big through centerpiece “Little Round Mirrors.” The former is pushed heavily by Evan Sult on drums, while Sean Nelson’s vocals careen through the song with enough bite to make it believable. Meanwhile, the album seems to build into and around the latter, which is arguably the best song on the album, building alongside a steady keyboard line and adding elements in all the right places to keep the song moving. The drums get emphasized more, a simple brass section adds a nice transition piece and the end bridge triumphantly stomps into the closing chorus, the energy having been completely turned around. Unfortunately, no other song attempts the same emotional approach, with the only other moody song being the depressed “What You Live By.” The album flows fairly well, stressing more upbeat moods with a few sobering songs thrown in for breaks, and while there are songs that lag behind, nothing totally flops.

Harvey Danger won’t change anyone’s mind about this brand of indie pop (or whatever you wish to call it), but their movement toward the pop edge of the spectrum has produced some fairly strong results that are easily appreciable. Harvey Danger have shown they have the ability to put these pop structures to use in various ways to bring about differing moods, and while some moments are less inspired, the whole comes off as a successful, polished work.



People who liked this also liked:
No Use For A Name - Leche Con CarneNo Use For A Name - Keep Them ConfusedDropkick Murphys - The Warrior's CodeRufio - The Comfort Of HomeFoo Fighters - In Your HonorLatterman - No Matter Where We Go..!A Wilhelm Scream - RuinerBetween The Buried And Me - AlaskaThe Movielife - Has a Gambling ProblemI Am the Avalanche - I Am the Avalanche



Please login or register to post comments.
What are the benefits of having a Punknews.org account?
  • Share your opinion by posting comments on the stories that interest you
  • Rate music and bands and help shape the weekly top ten
  • Let Punknews.org use your ratings to help you find bands and albums you might like
  • Customize features on the site to get the news the way you want.

    Posted by coldwaffles on 2007-07-21 19:31:16
    My Score:

    Absolutely love Cream and Bastards Rise, Moral, Mirrors, and especially Wine, Women and Song, What You Live By, and Happiness Writes White. Such an amazing album, I love the vocals and piano/keys a lot.

    Posted by Anonymous on Monday, January 30, 2006 at 8:48 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    glad to see people appreciating King James Version. that's one of the most underrated rock records out there. and now it's out of print, but pretty readily available in used bins. everyone should pick it up and be amazed.

    this record is good. not AS good as i expected after KJV, but a definite fun, catchy pop record. "wine women and song" and "little round mirrors" are up there with their best songs.

    Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, January 28, 2006 at 5:53 PM (EST)

    They cut off my legs, now I'm an amputee, God damn you!

    Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, January 28, 2006 at 2:25 AM (EST)

    King James Version absolutely murders this album and the first album. But those two are good too. KJV is a complete musical masterpiece

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, January 27, 2006 at 6:34 PM (EST)

    The drummer is no longer Evan Sult (moved to Chicago), by the way, but the fantastically adept Michael Welke. A damn fine replacement!

    Posted by maverick on 2006-01-27 17:21:58
    My Score:

    Both of their major-label records were absolute gems that most of the world slept on (especially 2000's King James Version), and both can probably be found in any cut-out bin for five dollars or less. I highly, highly, highly recommend both.

    This one is good, but it's a bit too piano-y for me -- I wanted more rock, and got more pop. Still worth listening to, though.

    -Scott

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, January 27, 2006 at 4:55 PM (EST)

    I'm not sick but I'm not weeeeeeell.

    Posted by thecaptain on 2006-01-27 16:10:40

    The "Save it for Later" cover is the best song they've done.

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, January 27, 2006 at 4:06 PM (EST)

    Cool James, War Buddies, and Diminishing Returns and three songs about as good as any they have done. I was really suprised by how good this album is.

    Posted by Dante3000 on 2006-01-27 11:28:19

    I dug this album a lot. But then again I got it for free (wait...that's easy to do). Anyhow, I'm going to listen to it right now...Well as soon as I get to the end of Jersey's Best Dancers
    -Dante

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, January 27, 2006 at 8:38 AM (EST)

    These fucking guys are still around? wow...kinda cool i guess.

    ---Trav.

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, January 27, 2006 at 6:42 AM (EST)

    the last paragraph of this review reads like instructions to assembling something. strange.
    -TOBB

    Posted by AlmostPunkEnough on 2006-01-27 06:09:34

    this really isn't a bad album at all. good shit when you wanna hear some poppy rock.

    it should be noted that the whole album is available as a BitTorrent on their website http://www.harveydanger.com/downloads/. so you should check it out.

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, January 27, 2006 at 4:07 AM (EST)
    My Score:

    Merrymakers was indeed a damn fine album. And you know what, so is this. I thought this band had disappeared forver. Glad they didn't.

    Posted by david_arquette on 2006-01-27 01:30:04

    I don't care what anyone says. Where Have All the Merrymakers Gone was a fantastic album.

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, January 27, 2006 at 12:46 AM (EST)

    paranoia! paranoia!

    © 1999-2006 Punknews.org • Terms of Use • Privacy • FAQ • About • ISSN 1710-5366 • RSS RSS Icon