Late Night Condition

Give & Take

Written by: TL on 01/02/2010 00:07:08

Who are Late Night Condition? Well, I don't know who they are to you, but to me, they're the fathers of the very last promo I have, which arrived before new years and which I still haven't reviewed. So to rectify this, let me introduce you to these four dudes from Buenos Aires, who have released their debut LP "Give & Take" on Deep Elm Records in this past December.

In terms of style, LNC position themselves rather casually between the alternative/post-grunge of the nineties, and the ballads of some of the past decades punkrock pioneers, and here I mainly mean Alkaline Trio. Not that you'll draw many parallels to them while listening to "Give & Take", not beyond maybe noting that singer Ale's voice is somewhat similar to Matt Skiba's in places (think "Radio"). Personally, I also liken him to Chris Cornell, as well as James Dewees in his softer periods with Reggie And The Full Effect - possibly even to a certain Tue West, whom Danish readers are sure to be familiar with.

Whomever you find more similar, the point is that Ale's nasal croon is the star of the show here, as the instrumentation seems rather comfortably restrained in a role of backing up his singing. As such, you won't notice many stand out riffs, fills or grooves, nor fancy effects or any such catchy elements. This is simple, straightforwardly rocking stuff, with focus on the good song and the dynamics between chilled out parts and slightly more distorted but still not too violent parts.

As you might dare to guess, such a record isn't one that blows the listener away for song upon song, rather it is one that catches your attention momentarily on the better ones, such as "Everything In A Kiss", "Nightmares" and "Selfish Dream", while merely providing a cool backdrop for your daily doings during the less distinctive ones. While Deep Elm Records recommend this band to fans of Alkaline Trio, Jimmy Eat World and Saves The Day, I find these songs a bit too relaxed to justify that, with the exception being "The Calling" and "Separate Ways", the two last tracks, on which the tempo is actually upped to something that might sound like punk rock, and the guitars are actually allowed to rip a little. Other than this, my mind wanders easier to Soundgarden and good old "Black Hole Sun".

Be that as it may, when things come down to the wire, it is not whether LNC are fast or casual which determines what I think of them, rather it is the level of memorability and variation in their stuff. The latter of those two I have to say, is not high, but yet, that is also much to expect from a young band. As far as memorability goes, they've managed to produce a good tune or a catchy lyric here and there, and considering how it's easy enough to find yourself singing along during some choruses, it's clear that they haven't done half bad. Still though, I don't think this is likely to stay with the listener for very long after it's done, so keep working at it boys.

6

Download: Selfish Dream, Nightmares, Everything For A Kiss
For The Fans Of: Soundgarden, Reggie & The Full Effect('s softer stuff), Alkaline Trio('s slow and raw stuff)
Listen: Deep Elm Artist Site

Release Date 02.12.2009
Deep Elm Records

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