-Greg’s Take-
One of the best ways to discover music is by word of mouth. We here at Nanobot Rock Reviews pride ourselves on being a place where everyone can come and safely discover new music without pretense. Just like a good independent band, we are based on word of mouth.
The reason I mention this is because one day in May Matt Vollet, lead singer of Cincinnati based rockers If I Ever See You Out Of Town, heard of Nanobot on Reddit by a fan of great music and promptly passed their release A Place To Build Planes our way. Naturally, any band is nervous releasing an album; independent bands, debut albums, probably more nervous than most. IIESYOOT was no exception. But upon spinning their thirteen tracks, it is quickly seen that they have not a thing to worry about.
On first pass A Place To Build Planes feels comfortably like a place to build a sound you’d achieve around the Red Hot Chili Peppers fronted by Isaac Brock playing a hole-in-the-wall bar. The passionate vocals of Vollet carry the sometimes yelling melodies reminiscent of deep track Modest Mouse which complement Daniel Whitford’s lively, often shredding, guitar riffs. Just combining those two aspects blur the line between any associations you thought you’d found. But throw in to the mix atmospheres drawn by Alex Thornton, a dynamic bass presence by Tyler Stemmer and the beatkeeping/texture crafting genius of Ryan Braun and a wall-of-rock sound becomes something much, much more.
If I Ever See You Out Of Town display an awareness that is staggering. From the attention grabbing intro to “Bad Bad Man” to the acoustic beginnings of “Daredevil Birds,” which might I add are separated by just two tracks, they hold nothing back and lay it all on the line. Taking into consideration their record is a whopping thirteen tracks long, with five coming in at four and a half minutes or longer, you’d be crazy to think these guys are anything but serious. There is bold rock “Devil Take Note,” southern rock swagger “Untitled” and drifting ballad “Weight of the World” and the album ends with a jam session ballad draped across a jazz foundation with “Bark Bite;” we cannot confirm nor deny an existence of a secret track beyond this. While reaching their feelers in several directions throughout, If I Ever See You Out Of Town never strays from who they are, wrapping everything they do in an identifiable, enjoyable rock sound.
With not much more than word of mouth, Cincinnati’s If I Ever See You Out Of Town has appeared to lay everything they have on the table in the hopes someone will listen. The catch here is that the only one poised to lose something is you if you opt to not listen; because if you choose not to, you’ll definitely be missing out.
