Artist:  Small Towns Burn a Little Slower
Title: Mortality as Home Entertainment
Triple Crown Records
12 Tracks ~37 minutes

Small Towns Burn a Little Slower have been around for a few years making intelligently crafted driving melodic rock music.  For some reason, their name led me to believe I was in for something loud and screamy, you know, like As Cities Burn or Fear Before the March of Flames.  

 

Originally formed in 2003 in Minneapolis as a trio, they released their debut self titled album on Rise records.  I have no way of knowing how this new release compares to the older material (since I haven't heard it), but since Small Towns has now been around for twice as long and picked up additional musicians (now a quintet), I'm guessing this is quite an improvement.  But that's just a guess.

 

What I do know is that this album is melodic, energetic, and interesting.  Vocals here are a little lower on the register, and I would best compare them to Bear vs. Shark or Small Brown Bike.  The songs have catchy melodies but are not so predictable that they sound trite. Also, the melodies throughout are tastefully done and add a nice feel to the builds on some of the songs. The guitar layers interact well, the rhythm foundation is solid, and it is clear that the masterful ears of producer Ed Rose had a positive effect on the direction of this disc. Lyrically, I heard alot of spiritually relevant references, but once again, the issues weren't dealt with lightly or predictably. 

Track 2, "Answers", had everything I listen for in a song.  "Answers" has a huge chorus, has great dynamic with some softer piano parts, and by the end had taken me somewhere I wanted to go again...and again. 

 

Overall, Mortality is a worthwhile listen with enough accessibility to get you hooked and enough depth to sustain repeated listens.