I’m not quite sure what it is--Aiden’s Nightmare Anatomy seems to have good things going for it. They’re another XO band from Victory Records, which seems to guarantee success; they’ve got a strong driving background with catchy choruses and unintelligible screamo verses; a lead vocalist with today’s typical punk pop/emo voice; backup vocalists who can roar with angst… common traits of your average strong band.
Maybe that’s what’s holding them back--no distinguishing traits. They’ve got the foundation of a good band, but they’re not doing anything spectacular. As a friend commented when I turned up “Knife Blood Nightmare”, “I know this song without having heard it.”
Aiden tries a few things, granted--the songs can mostly be told apart from one another, and there is some minor variation in theme. But it’s not enough--we’ve heard this sentiment, sung in this voice, from this record label. They’re just not rocking enough for me to notice them over anyone else. I mean, there are just so many little irksome problems I have with this album--Nightmare Anatomy. Nightmare Anatomy? I honestly would love to fall in love with an album called Nightmare Anatomy… if it were groundbreaking. Genre-defining. Superbly produced enough to stand out amongst the competition. But Aiden doesn’t accomplish that. They’ve got songs that you’ll enjoy, that’s sure enough. “Last Sunrise”, “Die Romantic”, “The City is Far From Here” (is that a Princess Bride reference?), all make passably nice ear-candy, but you won’t remember that they’re by Aiden.
It’s just that Aiden has yet to find its own voice amongst what’s out there, and with this release, it really shows. There’s no amazing direction, just some heavily-contemporarily-influenced songs that are lost in the hardcore flood. Honestly, do I like this album? I’m not usually crazy about the mad screamz, but yes, I like a good portion of this album. Am I at all impressed with the album? No, I am not. Maybe if the songs were tighter, more focused in an intense way, better produced… it’s not an especially polished album. The listening public doesn’t seem to set much store by that these days, but it only brings the listenability of the music down when the songs are so long that they seem to run together even more. I remember feeling one time that A.F.I.’s Sing The Sorrow album is really just one long song broken up and masked by other rhythms--well, this album is kind of like that too, but not complimentarily.
So go ahead and give the album a listen--it has definite good points. Some songs were made to be broadcast from your car stereo to the rest of the neighborhood. And perhaps I’ve lowered your expectations to the point where you’ll be pleasantly surprised. All that said, though--sample the album before buying. If you can’t find something original after five minutes either, just borrow it from a friend, because having your own copy is not quite worth it.
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A.F. '05 |
