Black Snow Angels EP is the debut release from Chicago-based Alt Rock band Brave Tin Soldiers. For the time being, the band is still unsigned (noted on their MySpace that they would like to change this). The band is made up of long-time friends guitar player Pete Alexander, bass player Jason Kedsch, and drummer Patrick Szczypinski.
Track listing:
1. Paranoia from Insomnia
2. Ruby Drops
3. Breathe
4. Black Snow Angels
The EP itself is quite short, but it is an EP so I expected nothing more in terms of length. The band says in their bio that they “take cues from Muse, Radiohead, and Steroephonics” – this is very easy to hear. Don’t worry, I’m not saying it’s a bad thing. It definitely works very well to their advantage, especially given the timbre of Pete’s vocals. Most of the vocal lines seem as though they could have been written by Thom Yorke or Matthew Bellamy, but somehow still manage to be quite unique. During the song “Breathe” however, they have a very “glam rock” vocal feel, straight out of the ‘80 sunset strip stuff.
The next item up for bids is the guitar work (also Pete). This is VERY different from the styles of the vocals, which is refreshing. At times I hear something like the Smashing Pumpkins, at other times it floats around to some old Radiohead guitar, and also hits the Muse style repetitive picking melodies (each one of these is represented quite well in the song “Black Snow Angels”). For there being only one guitarist, the guitar parts are very full. I am not sure whether to attribute this to great writing, great production, or both. The dynamic and change in tone/timbre of the guitar is fantastic on this EP. It matched perfectly with what the bass is doing at every moment without mirroring them, or stealing the bass player’s spotlight (one of the bonuses of a three-piece band). Speaking of the bass player, Jason did not have a whole lot of spot light as far as technical bass playing goes, but he always have groove to spare. This extra groove goes for miles in the song “Paranoia from Insomnia” and moves the track along (the only instance I noticed where the bass line was the driving force).
The drumming on the album is average. This could be due to many things, however. This style of music does not lend itself kindly to impressive technical playing, nor does it lend itself to very creative drum sections without strange time signatures or phrasing (neither of which I noticed on the EP). The drums to their job, and do it well. They sound good, and don’t ever steal the thunder from the great melodies. Patrick does a great job at doing what needs to get done, and nothing more.
All in all, this EP excites me a lot. The band is currently in the studio recording their second release, and first full-length album. From the great potential I hear oozing out of this EP, their debut album should be a good one, and should aid them in finding a label.
Track pick: “Black Snow Angels”
Overall Score: 8/10
(Sorry, not metal enough for my usual devil horns, and I could not think of an item to represent this style of music)
For anyone interested, check out their myspace. You can get the EP for free, or pay $3.00 to a good cause and get it. I highly recommend it.
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