Review: The Escape Engine - Celebrity Role Model

artist: the escape engine album: celebrity role model label: fidelity records released: by: eduardo moutinho To be completely honest, I didn’t expect much from this release when I got it in the mail. I mean, the packaging was reminiscent of a cliché Ferret post-hardcore band ala A Static Lullaby. Thankfully, the mantra “don’t judge a book by its cover” applied in this situation. The Escape Engine can best be described as an amalgam of Grade, Somehow Hollow, and the vocals of Cedric Bixler (At the Drive-In, The Mars Volta). Imagine that combination for a second… If you’re like me, it’s hard to imagine the fusion of poppy post-hardcore with chaotic and not-so-harmonic vocals. It just doesn’t seem to match. But in this case, it is what gives the music of The Escape Engine some character and uniqueness. The musicality of this band is above average, but nothing spectacular. The guitars are well done, and the drums do the job. To be quite honest, nothing really stands out in this department, yet I do believe the band achieved the sound they sought after. The aforementioned vocals are interesting, and the vocalist does indeed have a singing voice incredibly similar to Bixler's. The one thing he does, which emulates modern-day Bixler, is scream on very few occasions. So if you yearn for chaotic, almost screamo-like vocals, you’re not getting it here. But I think the right path was chosen with the vocals. The combination of music and singing is intriguing enough as it is. Unfortunately, I was disappointed by the song selection on this record. There are way too many slow and uninteresting post-hardcore ballads for my taste. While I do enjoy these kinds of songs if done correctly, in this case, there are too many and the majority of them are quite average. Bypassing the introductory track, the first three songs on the album, "Welcome to the Conversation," "This Jagged Alibi," and "The Six Month Accident" are well executed and they heightened my expectations for the rest of the album as I listened. Yet, like hitting an irritating path of grooved cement after cruising on freshly laid asphalt, as the ballads kicked in, my expectations went back down. Songs like, "A Lesson in Futility" and even the title track "Celebrity Role Model," are what I’m talking about here. To put it bluntly, I hoped for more variety. Nevertheless, there is solid material exhibited in addition to the first two songs, like "Joining the Club." I believe this group has impressive potential, and I am intrigued to hear their future work. This isn’t a bad freshman release at all, and acts as a good stepping-stone for these guys. I definitely think this is worthy of a listen just to hear the blending of the music and the vocals, and also as a release itself. As a side note, my brain hurts from thinking about how many bands use cheesy picture collages of teenage girls on their album covers… favorite song: "welcome to the conversation" rating: 82%/100% listen to the escape engine