Descended Like Vultures
- Rock/Pop
- 2005
- Buy the CD
Reviewed by Mike Farley
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“Bird on a Wire” marries front man Zach Rogue’s smooth vocals with some crunchy, albeit whiney guitars, and somehow it works brilliantly. “Publish My Love” is a synth beauty, and is one of the tracks chosen for hit TV series “The O.C.” and then also landing on the show’s Mix 5 compilation. There are also some dreamy acoustic tracks, such as “Salesman at the Day of the Parade” and “California.” The latter has a twitching guitar riff that sounds like it was ripped from the Beatles’ “Norwegian Wood.” “Love’s Lost Guarantee” has a dark, brooding minor-chord infested verse with a huge, major-chord-gang-vocal chorus. Other standouts are the raw energy of “10:1” and the ethereally triumphant “You.”
Is Rogue Wave going to be one of those bands that are just big enough to have that indie charm, selling out small rooms and keeping a relatively comfortable fan base happy? Or are they going to keep taking giant steps to becoming the next Coldplay? Whatever the band wants, they might not be able to avoid the latter if they keep making music this good. “The O.C.” was one of those giant steps, and the first real warning to get out of this band’s way.
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