Verdict: Double Eclipe cut the cord with their past, generating a contemporary rock sound this time out.
This is Double Eclipse's third album. Double Eclipse is essentially a duo conisting of twin brother's Phill and Alan Hackney. For this album the brothers have decided to do it all themselves - instruments, vocals and production.
On their previous album, , much to my disgust, the band started to move away from their 80's hard rock roots and adopted a more modern sound for the majority of the tracks. Also I had just noticed that maybe my review ratings were all on the high side, so I tried a new 'get tough' system, with DE being one of the first victims.
This time around I wanted to give the album a fair chance, so I put the put the CD in my proper HiFi, rather than listening to it on the computer, cranked the volume levels up and hit 'play'. I also tried my best to think of it as an album by a new band.
The album blasts off with 'all that she was' which has a alt rock almost punk feel to it. "Eloquent Face Down" continues the theme, but with a more melodic approach on the chorus. On this track and a number of others the verses are sung in a clipped/spoken manner with pauses between each word which took me a while to get used to. While we're at it, lets get all the 'nit picking' out the way now. I'm genuinely always full of admiration for these guy for creating this entire album on their own. The minor glitch with this apporach is that the production has suffered slightly and that some of the songs don't shine the way they deserve to. "Save Me" has a Marvellous 3/Squint vibe to it. The band romp through the punk rock of "You Talk Too Much". "Don't Be So Low" is one of the best tracks on the album featuring one of the more memorable choruses. The following track, "Learn", is another highlight. "Everything's Gonna Be Alright" has perhaps more of a metal feel ala Nickelback to it. "Tomorrow" sounds similar to the title track. "Sorry Wasn't Enough" closes the album with a ballad.
A combination of the evolution of my musical tastes and the evolution of the band's style, has resulted in an album that I'm more in tune with this time out.
