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 Caught in the Carousel - Music Reviews and More
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De’Sole
A Story To Tell
Abacus Recordings
“So you have a story to tell,” sings De’Sole’ frontman Lance, “with chicks and booze/With drugs and hotels.” While this Arizona band seems to come without last names, that they want you to know them on a first-name basis is a testament to the intimacy of the ten numbers that comprise their debut album A Story To Tell. Seemingly no details are left out of these tales of late nights, fair-weather friends, broken hearts and hard liquor. Unabashedly honest, A Story To Tell tells more than just one story, but after a few listens to these crunchy punk pop tracks, you’ll recognize them as the sum parts of each other. Combining the pop sensibility of fellow desert city sons Jimmy Eat World (“Personal”) and the gothic rock rush of My Chemical Romance (“Shadow Girl”), De’Sole are a band with a varied arsenal. An example of this is underscored when the smoke clears and the band offers the acoustic “For Just One Reason,” which is as emotionally open as anything by Dashboard Confessional. Also noteworthy are “Opposites Attract,” a punchy number of late hour desperation, and “Count Your Friend,” a fiery track about trying to figure out who you can rely on. Sometimes A Story To Tell shoots to big (“Gossip”), while other times it doesn’t shoot big enough (“Illustrate The Actress”), but these are rookie mistakes. For a debut, this is a promising batch of songs.
—Alex Green
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