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Rating: When I bought this CD (after more than a month of waiting), I put it in the player and pressed play, I was taken aback. I was expecting the usual Sunny Day Real Estate clone band, and instead, I found myself with an album that even I wouldn’t know how to define properly.
In this album, irregularity reigns supreme. The songs do not have fixed structures; there is no classic verse - chorus - verse - chorus, in fact, very often there is no chorus, or there might be two. The song lyrics are written in the booklet following a logical thread, but in the songs, the phrases are mixed, creating a somewhat strange but very pleasant effect... then there’s Von Bohlen’s voice (ex Cap n' Jazz), off-key, but damn beautiful and intense. All this colors the album with a thousand different shades, the songs seem like nursery rhymes written by a teenager. The two guitars intertwine with the typical emo octave chords; the drums are at times light, almost imperceptible, and at times pounding. In three tracks there is also the violin, which, however, does not have great relevance.
The tracks flow one after another without problems, thanks also to their brief duration (the CD lasts a total of 36 minutes). It starts with "Everywhere in Denver", my least favorite song on the album, and moves through the continuous rhythm changes of "Heart Of a Broken Story", to the sweetness of "My Firetower Flame", to the famous "A Picture Postcard", my favorite, up to the concluding "We Don't Like Romance", an excellent instrumental track. Also worth mentioning are "The Sea Of Cortez" and "Run Down The Waterfall", two other really beautiful pieces. However, the songs deserve to be listened to all; each one is a snippet of a teenager's life, told in the Promise Ring manner.
In conclusion, a really beautiful album, which I would recommend only to those who haven't surpassed 18-19 years. It would make no sense to listen to this album as an adult. It's a pity that the Promise Ring, after this beautiful debut and after the excellent "Nothing Feels Good", lost all their originality and became a boring pop band.
"I live across the street from heaven and catching the notes of an eye, there's nothing like catching your eyes"
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
02 Red Paint (02:54)
I was sad enough last Saturday,
I woke you to talk but you didn't have much to say.
You came to to two cherry cokes, came to to coke.
In the morning, when the wind is still warm,
and the rivers still coming and following.
The Astor hotel is black in the windows, black in the hall.
Since we left separately.
A country letter, straight from a widow: come in the nighttime,
to the back porch, throw rocks at my window,
and climb the terrace to the landing.
This house built cleverly for you and me.
(you sound like young love)
05 Anne You Will Sing (02:39)
Built like houses in the seventies,
born to self-destruct in messages.
I dreamt of you and me swimming.
Your shivering, a little bit shy.
We're only seventeen forever for a moment.
I'm breathing like a boy, full of you.
08 A Picture Postcard (03:10)
If I put my hands to your stomach,
or put my lips to your hand.
Birmingham has gone to motors.
Take me home, keep your eyes on the road.
So don't forget to kiss me if you're really going to leave.
Couldn't you take the second bus home?
Couldn't you just take me with you?
I'm convinced that you're from mars.
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