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Review: Augustana - Can't Love, Can't Hurt |
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Written by Garod Fahrenheit
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Saturday, 03 May 2008 |
At some point in listening to Augustana, you have to acknowledge the
obvious Counting Crows influence over this band. The next generation of
rock bands is here and the same groups that dominated the airwaves in the
90's are now fathering acts much the way Bob Dylan and Van Morrison did to
Adam Duritz of the Crows. While the Crows have pretty much sold out and
went pop, they did create two transcendent albums that have held up well
over time. Augustana's first disc All the Stars and Boulevards was very
much a throwback to artists like The Band and Bob Dylan while still
maintaining that modern rock flavor. So when you hear the opener to Can't
Love, Can't Hurt you can't help but feel the echo of the Counting Crows'
"Catapult". Hey Now has that same slow building angst, but never quite
explodes the way "Catapult" did. There is that same problem with tracks
later on where producer Mike Flynn seems a little too busy adding strings
to make the music sound more sweeping. Flynn seems to be trying to make
this album into another one by The Fray. Those guys are talented in their
own way, but all the emotion in the Fray's music is lost in the studio
effects. No doubt the success of Augustana's ballad "Boston" is much to
blame for this in the end. The exec's at Epic probably want the band to
crank out 10 more tracks just like it so they can put it on some very
special episode of Grey's Anatomy.
Now I must admit, I have a soft spot in my heart for the boys in
Augustana. I had the privilege to see them open for the Stereophonics in
a little shit hole bar in Lawrence, KS before their debut album was
finished. The passion they were able to emote during their 45 min set had
me hook, line, and sinker. They come across like an indie rock band with
their constant touring. On that first album they were able to more or
less, accurately show the energy that they bring to their live sets. You
could hear lead singer Dan Layus banging away on the keyboards and the
bass level slightly higher than it needed to be. With their second
effort, all of that stuff is cleaned up. With the exception of
"Dust",which is a good example of what they can do at their best. You
get another slow burner that ends up rocking out at the end that has a
faint hue of those very same Stereophonics they opened for 3 years ago.
The ballads "Twenty Years" and "Fire" show where this album could have
gone. One of the best tracks is saved for the closer in "Where Love Went
Wrong". You finally get a sense of where the band's sound could evolve to
on the next album. Augustana is still a young band with a lot of
potential ahead of them. When Layus hits the chorus, you find yourself
wanting to give them another shot. Here's hoping they get that chance.
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