Celebrity - Mining for Twilight

Doghouse Records

11 Tracks

 

I had heard the band Celebrity many years ago on a compilation I picked up via Cornerstone Festival.  They were ok but apparently forgettable; as I had not remembered much about them save for the name.  I was excited to review this new album and see what they had become.  Mark Nash, formerly of the CCM band, PFR and husband of Leigh Nash, produced the album.  This made me anticipate the listening experience even more.

            Let me first say that this is a solid rock record.  It’s pretty straightforward.  There aren’t a lot of hidden nuances and tricks in the production or instrumentation that make it super technical.  It’s just a good rock record. 

            The first track, “Blood Sugar” opens with warm acoustic guitar and an immediate identification with the singer’s feelings of “I should be happy where I’m at.”  The slower entry into the play list starts the record with much the same feel, as Copeland’s Beneath Medicine Tree.  The two bands don’t sound anything like each other, but the hushed opening track leads to a nice mood for the rest of the album.

            On the second track there is a touch of Chris Martin in the vocalist’s sound and approach.  The record is full of Oasis style guitar licks which leads me to place the band’s sound as somewhere between Oasis and OK Computer era Radiohead.  It makes for a really comfortable sounding album.  There’s also a bit of a hint that these boys are fans of the Cure.  Once in awhile we get the hint of some of the Cure, a la Fascination Street.

            As I said, overall this is a really good rock record.  If you are a Celebrity fan or a fan of any of the aforementioned bands I would definitely check this out.  If you’re looking for something a little more intricate then I’d look elsewhere.  As for me, in the right mood this record fires on all cylinders.