ALBUM REVIEW: The Rain Dance – A Joker’s Rage
If you’re a new band on the block, ready to do whatever it takes to make the music you love for a living, it’s easy to believe that there would be an expected leniency when it comes to reviewing your debut album; it’s the first time out of the gate releasing a full-length collection of work into the world. For A JOKER’S RAGE, having received radio play on a few of their singles and having different comparisons to their contemporaries, there is a level of expectation that comes with their own debut album, The Rain Dance. But as this band tried to blend the sounds of old and new rock with the added sprinklings of pop, did they create a delicious piece of work for many to happily consume?
Put it this way – it’s as if you ordered a smoothie, the first sips are delicious and refreshing, but the more you drink of it, the more it becomes bland and in some cases, suddenly sharp, as if some of the blends couldn’t work together and refuse to mix. That’s the best way to describe The Rain Dance. First, two tracks, Temptress and Shylock, are great to open the album with, delivering interesting grooves, solos, and lyrics, especially in the latter with their allusions to Shakespeare’s The Merchant Of Venice. It seemed to easily combine a pop punk presentation backed by the classic rock sensibility.
Then the problems crack through. Random chipmunk voice in The One, vocals and lyrics that ended up plateauing, and even when Secrets came along and made it seem we would hear something akin to AVENGED SEVENFOLD’s grand and rich instrumentation with an orchestra, they just don’t add anything within the song, especially as it seems to be mostly hidden in the mix. Speaking of the mixing of this album, that seems to be all over the place, especially with the drum kit. It sounds like they thinned the sound out so much, that it sounds like a bullet is hitting straight in your ear every time it’s heard. Aside from that, the rest of the songs just turn into boring, generic, and average songs that don’t really leave a memorable impact for the listener.
Even with Ballet To The Masses, although the lyrics are beautifully written about Freddie Mercury, the instrumentation just bores the listener and doesn’t assist the theme and delivery of the words from the song. In addition, although the opening tracks started great, the closing track, Stars Align, is another disappointment, especially as all the elements within it seem very disjointed. It also just stops as an ending very suddenly, so once again, not something that would stick in someone’s memory.
Overall, it is obvious that A JOKER’S RAGE did put time and effort into their work, but what they delivered just couldn’t live up to the rest of what they had done. No matter how many instruments and effects they add to a song, it can’t disguise how bland and generic the sound eventually becomes the more you listen. The Rain Dance will hopefully be a learning curve for the band to know what to do with their next album, with better mixing and more unique ideas. There are some things that just don’t go together, and hopefully, this band will review their recipe and work on making their sound a lasting flavour.
Rating: 5/10
The Rain Dance is out now via self-release.
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