CD review

Life on the C-bus

The Lost Revival Homemade Confetti

by Dave Schaefer

The title of The Lost Revival’s first full-length, Homemade Confetti -- which brings to mind partying and mindless fun -- belies the weighty content and mood-driven blend of dark guitars and heavy content. The first track “First Day” delves immediately into what’s in store for the listener and song after song takes you on a tour through dim alleys and brightly lit but shadow-strewn streets.

However, despite its generally grim sound, a surprisingly listenable and engaging album emerges.

Much of the CD sounds like a mix of Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan and Mike Ness with a touch of danceable 70s rock, bluegrass, and The Cult thrown in -- but even that description doesn’t do this sound justice. It’s a cool mix that works.

But much of it’s success is the voice of lead singer Kevin Collins. His cigarette-tuned vocals add to the heft of the songs, echoing the pitched rasp of the electric guitar and complimenting the occasional grated whine of a harmonica. Together, it all creates a bluesy rock symphony that you kinda want to tap your foot to.

The Lost Revival (formerly Youngstown Tune-up) will be having their CD Release Show at Skully’s tonight (4/12). The Nuclear Children and The Celebrity Pilots will be opening.

Here’s the song-by-song rundown:

First Day Great opener. The track is reminiscent of a dark Muse, yet at the same time sounding little like them. It’s got a great hook hidden amongst the keys and vocals that work beautifully with the rhythmic thrum of the music.

Thin Man’s Mile
One of the simpler songs on the CD, this is almost a bit too understated. This is one of the few songs where Kevin’s voice doesn’t hit the mark. He sounds a bit bored with the track himself, so it’s difficult as a listener to get too excited about it. A couple positives though: The lyrics are great if you can get through the tiredness of the rest, and the harmonica is put in all the right places.

Everyone, Everywhere
In the opening notes, you wonder if The Lost Revival is going to break into a 70’s Styx song, but they mercifully don’t. Instead, they keep the great 70s influence and take it on a road trip into next century. This is a catchy song with snappy lyrics -- not too much pop, not too little rock, and just enough blues to make it smooth.

Sugarmouth
The tick-tock backbeat and guitar work on this track is what keeps this tune stuck in your head. Although this is a song that has a similar slow drawl as “Thin Man’s Mile,” Kevin’s vocals work better with “Sugarmouth.” He seems more interested, more as though he were believing the lyrics he’s singing rather than merely repeating them. And that makes this track a winner.

Driftwood
60s folk makes it’s way into this track. The Dylan influence is strong and it’s an influence well-played, creating a song that is both traditional and original, familiar and new. Again, the lyrics are strong and Kevin’s vocals are dead on. His voice was made for songs like “Driftwood.”

Jesus Loves You
This is a song that at first listen you could picture being played at a country church on a simple piano and organ with the congregation clapping and dancing. Until you actually hear the lyrics, then you suddenly realize that, um, yeah, not so much. It’s a fun song nonetheless, with a catchy beat and great keys. Destined to be a definite crowd-pleaser during their live shows.

Jailbait
Kevin is channeling The Cult’s Ian Astbury during much of this song. Not a bad thing, generally speaking, but the song itself offers little of anything new. It’s got some interesting things happening about three-quarters of the way through the track, but ultimately dissipates into normalcy.

A Bird on a Chain
This track grabbed my attention at the first opening notes and held it with the first lyrics. A slow, deliberately plodding song, it’s beautifully dark in both music, words, and performance. It’s a song that demands you listen, not because it’s got a great hook or catchy beats, but because of the remarkable blend of the entirety of this band’s collective talent working beautifully together. This song alone is worth picking up this CD and holding on to it.

Powerlines
Religion is an ongoing theme of a few of the tracks on Homemade Confetti and “Powerlines” is one of the more exceptional ones. A lyrically intriguing song, this track also draws you in with it’s meticulously paced and complex instrumentation. And I have to admit to being a sucker for a well-placed harmonica.

Whiskey Lake
I really wanted to like this track better than I do. It starts out well enough -- intriguing in its simplicity -- but it remains fairly monotone throughout, except for a slight build-up about three-quarters of the way. Kevin treats the lyrics well, singing them with an interest that their content seems to lack. Overall, not a bad song by any means, but I would have to rank it among the lesser on Homemade Confetti.