Open wide and say Ah! – Every Avenue has assembled a tasty sampling of material to introduce the band to listeners.
Kicking off with “One More Song,” Every Avenue tells a tale about the band, an approach few groups can pull off, save perhaps for Deep Purple with “Smoke On The Water.” The song finds vocalist David Strauchman talking about all the struggles a band goes through in order to survive as he sings “Crowded floors and sleepless nights / photographs and stupid fights / but hopes and dreams and memories / you can’t take away from me.” There is not an instant connection between the band and the audience at this point, because the struggle to release a CD is not a universal one.
The band should probably have started this release with the true highlights of this EP, “Where Were You?” and “Nothing.” In “Where Were You?,” Strauchman contributes his strongest performance when he sings “Where were you when I needed you most? / Why did you leave me alone?” Sure, this subject — dealing with the one that broke your heart — has been covered in zillions of songs. But this one is convincing and not whiny, which is to Every Avenue’s credit. And on “Nothing,” guitarists Joshual Randall and Jimmie Deeghan drive the tempo of the song with drummer Michael Govaere and bassist Camereon Grenstiner helping. Raise your hand if you have experienced what Strauchman describes in this track’s opening lyric about relationships: “You say everything the right way and I say it all wrong.” That’s what I thought.
When Strauchman is singing about relationships, as he does in “Picking Up the Pieces” — which compares trains with relationships – Every Avenue is a potent band. Other highlights in that vein include “Think of You Later,” with lyrics like “I miss the long drives, the car rides, the bad fights, the good times / the way you make me feel will never leave my mind.” But, despite all of that, the narrator is leaving this person when he sings, “Quit your crying and wipe the tears from your eyes / ‘Cause this is see you later / I’m not into goodbyes.” The relationship in “Getting Out” isn’t faring much better as he sings, “I’m sick of being told what to do / like it’s never good enough for you.”
So apparently Strauchman has some girlfriend issues, which most guys have had at some point, and the listener can relate to the lyrics. Had “One More Song” been dropped, this five-song CD would be a great listen, and not just because of the great songs about relationships — a subject Strauchman handles maturely and convincingly on this release.
