Surprisingly solid second album for Jersey rock kids…
I had no idea what to expect when
I pressed play on the new Bedlight For Blue Eyes record. I knew they
were on Trustkill and that said label had touted the band as the “next
big thing” prior to the release of their debut album… a bold move
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considering how fickle the music industry can be.
What I didn’t see coming was
how pleasantly surprised I’d be with what I was hearing. After checking
the band’s press release I’d made the assumption that BFBE were
going to be another pop-punk/wannabe metalcore band, however there isn’t
a shitty attempt at a breakdown on one of the disc’s 11 songs!
The most instantly noticeable
thing about “Life On Life’s Terms” is the standout vocal performance
from Daniel Rinaldi. I’d read somewhere that the band’s first singer
was something of a musical prodigy but Mr Rinaldi is a more than suitable
replacement. The strength of his voice and his range is impressive,
bringing to mind Stephen Christiansen of Anberlin.
Musically, Bedlight For Blue Eyes
have a bit more going on than your average pop punk/pop rock band. For
starters, their lead guitarist actually plays leads! Around half the
tracks on “Life On Life’s Terms” have solos which bear more than
a passing resemblance to those wash ups in Motley Crue.
Although the rhythm section doesn’t
do anything overly impressive, they do their job and give the band’s
“catchy as an STD in Thailand” melodies a chance to stand out.
pretty much stick to the standard rock n roll blueprint of verse-chorus
but the quality of the riffs and consistency of the song writing makes
it an enjoyable listen nonetheless.
“Life On Life’s Terms” is
by no means a ground breaking album, but it is a well written, consistent
record – one which has the capability of pushing Bedlight For Blue
Eyes a few spots higher in the current pop/rock rankings. If the band
has the live show to pull these songs off live then I don’t see any
reason why they can’t attain the same level of popularity of a band
like Anberlin.
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