<\/p>\n
What can I say; I\u2019m a sucker for big guitars. <\/p>\n
That fat, ringing, slightly jangly, super-full guitar sound gets me every time. AC\/DC, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, the Gin Blossoms, the Black Crowes, Jet, and the list goes on\u2014these are groups that hit you again and again with a big riff that simply demands your attention.<\/p>\n
Whether my attention wanes after that initial grab depends largely on the quality of the songs, and that\u2019s where Andreas\u2014a group with a nice, full sound, a memorable singer, and strong musicianship throughout\u2014has room to improve. Flawed but undeniably impressive, their debut EP Extended Play<\/i> shows abundant potential.<\/p>\n
On an EP, you want to lead with your best, and Andreas definitely does with \u201cBeyond Repair,\u201d a cut with all the elements you want to hear in a lead single: powerful drive, a catchy riff, a nice surge on the chorus, and a lyrical hook that sticks in your head. The sound owes a lot to Petty, that urgent, slightly greasy, twin-guitars-plus-organ wall of sound.<\/p>\n
Second track \u201cI Bet\u201d shifts gears immediately, a mid-tempo number that revs up and falls back repeatedly. When it picks up on the choruses, lead vocalist Brian Dahl develops an Axl Rose keen that really works, and adds interest as he veers back and forth between his lower natural register and the higher pitch he hits when cinching it up. \u201cI Bet\u201d also reveals itself as a well-arranged cut that creates space to shine for the entire band, which includes Dahl on vocals and guitar, Jason Brandow on lead guitar and backing vocals, Jennifer Lockman on keys and backing vocals, Adam Payne on bass and backing vocals, and Mike Medhurst on drums.<\/p>\n
\u201cLetter From A Friend\u201d has a catchy melody and some nice textures\u2014the interplay of the lead guitar and keys on the verses in particular\u2014and throws a lot at you in terms of arrangement, but ultimately feels like somewhat generic classic rock. Andreas definitely knows how to build it up and break it down, but it somehow feels a little too familiar here.<\/p>\n
Offering up another side of the group\u2019s sound, \u201cLet Her Do\u201d is a slow, bluesy ballad, heavy on Lockman\u2019s moody Hammond organ and Brandow\u2019s churning chords. It\u2019s hard not to think of the Black Crowes on this one, with a hint of a Southern rock feel, a skyscraping solo and a heavy finish.<\/p>\n
This brief appetizer\u2014clocking in at five tracks and 23 minutes\u2014finishes with \u201cTime After Time,\u201d a solid enough tune, even if the chorus feels a little predictable. The best things here are the guitar\/keyboard interplay on the verses (again), the stacked vocals on the chorus, and the trebly tone Brandow puts on his solo, a cool sound Ronnie Montrose used a few times back in the day.<\/p>\n
As a showcase for Andreas, Extended Play<\/i> reveals a group with strong tools and a lot of promise. I\u2019m looking forward to seeing what comes next for them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":32259,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[9566],"rating":[5612],"class_list":["post-44012","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-andreas","rating-rating-b-minus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/44012","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44012"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/44012\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32259"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44012"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=44012"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=44012"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}