Powerspace - The Kicks Of Passion
Wow, let me begin by saying how proud I am of these boys. It's their debut cd and their first release with Fueled By Ramen. There's a certain bond between the Fueled By Ramen label and its fans that doesn't exist with any other record label. They're your family and pretty much your life. You plan you summer around their record releases, their shows and, of course, you're always more than willing to stand out in the hot sun and do promotional events... but moving on, if I had to pick an album I was most excited for in 2007, this would be it and now it's finally here, it's amazing, I couldn't be more pleased. Good job boys.
The album comes as a bit of a surprise at first. All the songs off of their previous EP "Houston, We Have A Party" have been remastered and re-recorded. They're all on "The Kicks Of Passion" including "We Put The Abs In Abstinence" which has been retitled as "I Met My Best Friend In Prague." The changes to the boys sound becomes apparent immediately. They've cut back on the electronics in all of their songs and have, instead, focused more on amplifying their vocals and with Alec Cyganowski's voice, it actually works. You actually have the chance to stop and appreciate Alec's vocals since they're no longer hidden behind tons of computerized ediiting.They've gotten more lyrical and, for once, the lyrics actually make sense. Of course the song titles still have nothing to do with the songs, but what else is new, this is Fueled By Ramen we're talking about.
Recommendations:
"Quarantine My Heart (Baby)" - It's a different side of Powerspace that we didn't get to see too much of on "Houston We Have A Party." It's lyrical, it's less electronica and more pop, it's got all the makings of a hit radio single, yet it's quite apparent that Johnny Minardi would never allow his boys to drown in the pop culture frenzy that surrounds label-mates Panic! At The Disco and Fall Out Boy.
"Dancing In The Future" - Typical Powerspace. It's crazy, you can barely tell what's going on in the song, in fact you can barely keep up with the song. It's ridiculous, it makes absolutely no sense, but it works because it's Powerspace; typical, nonsense Powerspace.
"Sleep, Everyone..." - It's a lot softer than anything we've ever heard from Powerspace before, but that doesn't mean that it's soft at all. What really surprises me about this album is how lyrical it is, which is especially notable on this track. The boys never had a way with words before but they're getting there.
Be sure to pick up Powerspace's cd "The Kicks Of Passion" when it comes out tomorrow (7/31)
