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JFH Music Review


Write This Down, Write This Down
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Write This Down
Write This Down



Artist Info: Discography
Album length: 11 tracks: 34 minutes, 10 seconds
Street Date: April 20, 2010


Having only two independent EPs to the band's name, it would almost seem as if Tooth & Nail was merely taking a chance on rock band Write This Down. I'm definitely not saying that that's the case, but regardless, it ends up being a rather good deal, as Write This Down's self-titled debut album is pretty solid, only using a handful of songs from their EPs, giving the listener a total of ten brand new tracks.

I know it's overly stated that you can't judge a book by its cover (or, in this case, an album), but Write This Down serves as a good reminder. Johnny Collier, Nate Rockwell and Chad Nichols make it hard to look at the album cover and pinpoint what kind of style of music you're about to listen to. And, honestly, even as you're going through it song by song, you can't actually define it as a whole with just one genre. Some of the songs are just pure rock songs, while others dabble around in a little pop punk-flavored alternative, and there's a bit of screaming, too. There's also traces of emo thrown in here and there, while "Heaven and Hell" is strictly acoustic. It's very much a mixed bag of songs, but they all seem to flow very well together, and it never really feels random or haphazardly tossed together.

All that being said, if you've heard the album's first single, "Renegade," and decided you didn't like it, you still may find something on Write This Down that you'd enjoy. If you haven't, expect a solid rock performance complete with some screaming in the chorus (it's actually pretty well-written straight rock music, and it follows a couple other good ones as well, "Alarm The Alarm" and "Despite Your Valour"). "Redemption" follows suit, reminding me a lot of the recently-returning Staple. If that's not your thing, the alternative stuff I mentioned appears in "I Never Said I Was Through With You" and "Center of Attention." The former is like if Sullivan and Thousand Foot Krutch morphed into one band, the latter of which is more like All Time Low and maybe a little Taking Back Sunday.

There's a lot to like about Write This Down, as whatever style they're going after is well-done on their part, and all the vocals and instrumentation are rather strong and fitting. My only complaint is that, while it's easy to mention other bands to give a general idea of the sound, there are a few instances where some riffs, vocal patterns or other pieces of a song's structure almost seem copied and pasted into their own song. But, thankfully, the entire album itself doesn't come off as just one big carbon copy.

Until this album, I was beginning to think that Tooth & Nail should stick to bands with more of an alternative edge than just the straight rock bands. Now that they've signed Write This Down, I'm starting to have more faith in their signings of rock bands. Hopefully they can find more as good as Write This Down, whose debut release is a breath of fresh air for fans of rock, and would be a good place to go for fans of bands like Dizmas and Staple.

- Review date: 4/13/10, written by Scott Fryberger of Jesusfreakhideout.com



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JFH Staff's Second Opinion



While the similarities to Emery are noticeable, Write This Down is also completely their own band with their own sound. The musical style can be described as dirty rock rifferty laid over melodies and a nice blend of metal rock and catchy pop. The vocals are strong, the guitars are diverse, and the drumming is powerful, making for a great finished product. And not only is the sound good, but the lyrical content is stellar. With one liners such as: "Walk away like nothing happened, whispering it's gonna make sense in the end" and "As we fed ourselves to the lion's den, we lowered our guard & fell on our own swords," the guys from Minnesota are seemingly veteran writers. Their sound ranges from a unique power metal vibe in "We Shot The Moon" to the slower ballad strains displayed in the beautifully written "Citadel." The pace stays strong, the chants and breakdowns are awesome, and with songs speaking of faith and relationships, this makes for a very complete album. Mixed in with the standouts are filler tracks like "Renegade" and "I Never Said That I Was Through With You." While they might not rank up there with the best, both are pretty good. Bottom line: when the filler tracks on an album are still a good listen, you know that you have a great album on your hands, and that's the case here. The only significant drawback would be the length of the songs; most barely reach the three and a half minute mark. All in all, this is a great debut release for Write This Down, and I'm already excited to see what they put out in the future. - Kevin Hoskins

 

. Record Label: Tooth & Nail Records
. Album length: 11 tracks: 34 minutes, 10 seconds
. Street Date: April 20, 2010
. Buy It: Amazon.com

  1. Alarm The Alarm (3:30)
  2. Despite Your Valour (3:35)
  3. Renegade (3:10)
  4. Handgrenades (3:16)
  5. I Never Said that I was Through with You (2:55)
  6. Center of Attention (2:54)
  7. Citadel (3:57)
  8. Redemption (3:13)
  9. We Shot The Moon (2:44)
  10. Kings and Councilors (3:17)
  11. Heaven And Hell (1:44)
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