Beneath Augusta--You Gotta Come Down Sometime

"We sound like Interpol…I guess," relents Beneath Augusta on their MySpace page. This is a band that would rather pull their teeth than offer up a list of bands they copy. Which is refreshing…but it may also be because their sound is just so darn unique. You Gotta Come Down Sometime isn’t bland, but the music just presents itself without baggage or description, and when the song ends everything that it brought with into your ears slips away. This is a really long way to say Beneath Augusta present a scaled-back version of progressive rock, in a way not unlike Interpol. The album contains many appealing songs that would hold their own weight on mainstream radio stations. "Satellites," "Silhouettes In Two," and "Security Wires" in particular cater to some light-punk-pop tastes, contain some alternative instrumentals, and contain that necessary malcontent with most things ("The blood and feces just keeps building up"). The lyrics made be clich矡t times, but when tied together with their angsty music (and if you’re in the right sort of mood) they do sound well-written (i.e. "Getting too close means you’ll get burned" in "Silhouettes In Tow"). While You Gotta Come Down Sometime sounds impressive, it lacks that glue that keeps the music cemented in your brain. Beneath Augusta show great potential in this release, but also reveal that they are still finding their feet.

(Published at MusicEmissions.com)