Music: The Burning Hotels: Novels

Music: The Burning Hotels: Novels

http://www.cosmosgaming.com/articles.php?id=2550&articletype=review


Our Take
The Burning Hotels created quite a bit of buzz around their hometown of Fort
Worth, Texas when they released their debut EP back in 2007. Since that
time, the alternative/pop rock band has been cranking away on their first
full length effort Novels and the amount of work that has gone into it is
almost immediately apparently. Although there are a few tracks that sound a
little too similar to one another, the effort as a whole offers atmospheric
melodies that are sure to hook listeners and give this band a much broader
audience.

Like many of the other genre acts out there, The Burning Hotels spend much
of their time moving between fast paced and slower numbers while always
trying to create intricate melodic soundscapes that create a ton of
atmosphere. It is definitely clear that the instrumentalists have spent a
lot of time on the album as a whole as every little element of the group's
music feels carefully calculated. This is most evident on the song "Where's
My Girl" where all of the little details come together to create a track
that is constantly changing while still offering shimmering melodies and
hooks. There are a few times where listeners will feel as though the
melodies feel a little too close to one another, but this doesn't hurt
Novels that much and most people will be able to look past it.

Two of the group's members handle vocals throughout the course of this album
and while each one has some subtle differences for the most part they tend
to sound very close to one another. But despite the fact that listeners may
have no idea who is singing which particular part, this never proves to be
an issue as they both have wonderful voices that have a decent range to them
and are able to enhance the soaring melodic choruses. Admittedly there are a
number of different bands in this genre that The Burning Hotels' vocal
arrangements are sure to remind listeners of but considering how enjoyable
their voices are this helps the band out.

There is room for this group to expand on their style and make their songs
sound a little bit different from each but overall this is a very enjoyable
debut that is sure to make The Burning Hotels a name that is known around
the country instead of just around their home town. If you're into
alternative rock that has some great melodies with a bit of an edge to it,
definitely check this band out.

http://www.myspace.com/theburninghotels

Chris Dahlberg
February 20, 2010