ACRN.com The Rock Lobster
http://www.acrn.com/reviews/album/?review=878
Key Tracks: “1000 Years,” “Something New”
Whether you are sitting on your futon eating Ben & Jerry’s or wandering through life awaiting your next vice, My Radio can meet your musical needs. The band’s new album, Starts in the East, Falls in the West is truly a guilty pleasure.
The album opens with an enchanting sound–and I mean that in the least Taylor Swift-ish way possible. Rather, it’s one that can capture listeners with an addicting sadness regardless of their emotional state. To put it simply, it’s like watching a sappy rom-com by yourself: you eat it up right until someone catches you or calls you out, making it impossible to continue your happiness unless you are alone again.
On first glance, it seems as if the record could appeal more to a younger demographic that enjoys following the in-crowd. However, with a few listens, it becomes clear that first impressions aren’t always correct.
My Radio combines nostalgia with an appealing theme of frustration with the way the indie industry works that is the perfect blend of old and new.
Toward the end of the record, “1000 Years” manages to haunt listeners with the stark reality of trying to find oneself. The song and general tone of the album bring the mature complexities we face in adult life and mixes them with the naive mentality we still try to hold.
The album closes with the brief, two-minute “Something New,” a heartfelt acoustic track that is just waiting to soundtrack a romantic scene from a movie or TV show. Some may see the song as melodramatic cheesiness, but many will identify the honest yearning behind singer JP Powell’s voice.
So poke fun if societal pressure forces you to not give this genre a chance, but My Radio has succeeded in creating an album packed full of nostalgic romance.
Starts in the East, Falls in the West will easily make its listeners want to sing along when no one is watching. And that, quite simply, is enough for me.