ALBUM REVIEW: The American Dream – Trophy Eyes
If you’re looking for tempos and grizzly vocals sweat drenched in punk melodies, you won’t find much of it on TROPHY EYES new album The American Dream. Inspired by vocalist John Floreani’s trip through Texas for two years, thousands of miles away from his home in Australia, the quintet’s third record is a huge departure from 2016’s Chemical Miracle.
Claiming to have sound-tracked his experience through the deep south by listening to the likes of U2, THE KILLERS and COLDPLAY, it seems such radio friendly rock has infiltrated TROPHY EYES and resulted in leaving behind their emotionally charged punk spirit, emerging with climactic anthems that are steeped in enough “woah ohs” and group choruses that aim to pull on the listeners heartstrings.
“Staring at the dead leaves in a backyard pool / Where did my life go?” sings Floreani on the album’s opener Autumn. “All those Irish songs at my grandfathers funeral / Seventeen candles on a birthday cake,” he croons as we are immediately introduced to the band’s new direction. Relying this time around on the art of storytelling rather than gripping tempos, TROPHY EYES let the nostalgia flow heavy.
On Something Bigger Than This a group chorus rings out the words “It don’t make much sense right now / but it will all come together when the lights go out” amid a bed of racing guitars, while the idea of looking back at youthful recklessness comes to life in closer I Can Feel It Calling; a track that attempts to bridge the gap between Chemical Miracle and The American Dream.
There’s a rosy tint to the whole thing. Where previously you’d find such sentiments screeching to life from hot-blooded lips, this time around is delivered from an alto vocal range that rarely erupts in a yearning fury, replaced instead by a choir of shouting voices and hand clapping that’s barely audible over guitars seemingly fed through synths.
It’s a formula that rears it’s head time and again: Friday Forever and More Like You could have been plucked straight from 1987s The Joshua Tree (U2), or even more recently from THIRTY SECONDS TO MARS‘ This Is War. Blake Caruso hits his drums so hard at times it feels as if he’s trying to break his way through the speakers, as Andrew Hallat and Kevin Cross tear away at melodies that aim to reach the ozone layer, tumbling into the grandeur and pomp of hard rock anthems.
The addition of strings (arranged by Grammy-nominated Chris Craker) to TROPHY EYES‘ repertoire adds yet another layer to their new-found sound in the more balladic efforts Tip Toe and A Symphony Of Crickets. Couple that with yet more nostalgic lyrics in the latter, the sound is inherently reminiscent of deep-rooted rock n roll of the late 1950s (think Johnny Cash or Roy Orbison). The discovery of such different dimensions threatens to break through the slow building surface melodies, but sadly never really hits the sweet spot.
With tracks like More Like You and You Can Count On Me already racking up numbers on streaming platforms, it doesn’t take a detective to figure out that The American Dream is a record that has the potential to thrust TROPHY EYES into the radio friendly rock sphere. There’s less of a guttural brutality here and more of a sweet foray into retrospective storytelling that lacks a punch, but a record with so many “oohs” and “ahhs” will surely work it’s way into a mid-level spot in the Top 40, and surely that’s not a bad thing?
Rating: 6/10
The American Dream is set for release on August 3rd via Hopeless Records.
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