Artist: Tooth & Nail/Solid State
Album: What the Kids Want
Label: Tooth & Nail/Solid State
Tracks: 14
Length: 53:01
Review By: John Durkee

Since this album is separated by artist, I’m going to review each artist and then conclude the review with an overall assessment.

The Terminal:
While it would be easy to simply scoff The Terminal off as a typical emo band (or mall emo band, whatever that’s supposed to mean) that Tooth and Nail has been whipping out, one should see that The Terminal is a little more than that. They do fit the normal trend, but do it better than many. Comparisons to Taking Back Sunday make sense, but The Terminal’s vocals are better. The vocals remind me of How to Start a Fire era Further Seems Forever. For those who enjoyed that album, and enjoy the latest trend of emo, this is a must have.

Waking Ashland:
Piano driven pop seems to be a new trend as well (funny how Tooth and Nail seems to exploit all the new trends…), but Waking Ashland does it very well. Waking Ashland sounds the most like Copeland of all the bands I can think of, though I feel the vocals in Waking Ashland are less vulnerable, stronger and manlier. This makes Waking Ashland different. They have great piano hooks and quite sincere lyrics.

As Cities Burn:
Is there a resurgence of spirit-filled hardcore or has Tooth and Nail signed a band simply because they’re good?

As Cities Burn blend the sounds of Strongarm and Underoath. As Cities Burn usually opts for the more hardcore sound, which is a good decision. When they bring the harder parts, it’s downright brutal, but when the whiny sung vocals come in, it puts one off a bit. Overall it’s not so bad to add the clean vocals, because it gives a break from the brutality.

Eager Seas:
When I had heard that Watashi Wa had broken up, I did have a question in my mind, “I wonder what will happen to their singer, Seth Roberts?” Well, he’s back with Tooth and Nail and utilizing his great voice with Eager Seas. The two songs on this compilation show a style of music that tend to be slower epic ballads, which works well with Roberts’ voice. The echoing chorus of “2:57 PM” of “We all need someone,” rings true and is quite catchy. If you were a fan of Watashi Wa, or enjoy good melodic pop music, Eager Seas brings it.

Discover America:

Chris Staples has been at this game a while, as the front man of twothirtyeight and a few solo EPs. His new album under the moniker Discover America continues the angular rock of twothirtyeight, but brings in a few new sounds. With a hip hop influence, with samples and danceable moments, and perhaps a new wave tinge, make the three songs on this comp quite good, but by far the best is “Green Eyes,” which has a very good melody.

Overall:

As with most Tooth and Nail bands, all of them on this compilation seem to follow current trends, while having their own perspective sounds quite well. This is a very good compilation and examples what each band does. If you’re interested in these bands, or in Tooth and Nail’s newer lineup of artists, this is a good pick up.