The Statistics
Leave Your Name

Here is yet another group from the highly emotional Jade Tree stable, which in recent years has brought us some of the most prominent Emo bands. The Statistics are, of course, melancholic to the right degree, but in "Leave Your Name," their debut long-playing album, a broader atmosphere is felt compared to other similar bands: mainly due to arrangements much closer to electronic sounds than is usually the case when talking about Emo; thus, the by-now canonical omnipresent keyboard of the Get Up Kids, Promise Ring, etc., is replaced by samples, strings, electronic drums, and various effects that contribute to making the record evocative and rich in atmosphere rather above the norm; of course, there are no shortage of distortions and abrupt dynamic changes, but overall the Statistics have characterized their emotional rock with a fair amount of sonic personality.

It's a pity, therefore, that the record sounds so inconsistent: If the sung tracks are almost all irresistible (both the anthemic "Sing A Song" and the more subdued "Hours Seemed Like Days" are excellent, but also the electronic "A Number Not a Name" or the single "Reminisce"), demonstrating excellent songwriting ability, the several instrumental tracks that appear on the album are surprisingly negative. The only one that possibly stands out is "Mr. Nathan," more robust than the others, but both the final "Circular Memories" and the title track of the album feel like filler and nothing more. This does not certainly detract from the fact that the Statistics could become a Big Thing in the American underground scene in the coming years; however, this debut is striking but at the same time leaves one doubtful.