Leisureworld
Double Wide Double High
ARTISTdirect
Angst rock, downtuned guitars, massive teen anthems, stomping riffs • heard it all before? Well, Canada’s Leisureworld aren’t going to mess with anyone’s expectations, and deliver a debut album chock full of metal you can feel “understood” by and (if you’re lucky) will let you know you’ve been victimized along with the best of ‘em.
Leisureworld come pretty damn close to touching System of a Down on tracks like “Sucker” and “Pig,” both very fine, dynamically exhausting displays of teen angst power. Other fine moments pop up as well: the Foo Fighters-gone-brooding crunch of “I Can’t Quit You,” the storming opener “I’m Dead” and the latter-day Depeche Mode electro-rock of “I’m So Over You.”
However, the latter half of Double Wide Double High is filled with the tired stomps of their “modern hard rock” peers, seriously diminishing the impact of their best moments. Leisureworld aren’t necessarily very good songwriters, but they do know how to pack some well-crafted metal dynamics, and their best songs get by on this alone. When they opt for safer performances, that dynamic is lost and we’re left with a bunch of pretty repetitious, tried-n-tested songs. There’s a good EP to be found in here, but as it stands, Double Wide Double High isn’t all that exciting after all. Bummer.
ARTISTdirect Records: http://www.artistdirect.com/
