Cymbals Eat Guitars - Pretty Years

Rating:

Cymbals Eat Guitars are on to something, and they aren’t stopping till you know it.

Ripe with melodies and a rawness that is simply incomparable, ‘Pretty Years’ is exactly what Cymbals Eat Guitars need to continue their ascension to the wider world. Beginning with ‘Finally’, the apt title is a perfect rhapsodic representation of what the band should be sighing because with an opener this strong there’s no wrong that can be done. Both euphoric and enticing it paves the way through ten tracks of personal discovery and thought. The strength continues on the following track ‘Have A Heart’ which is hyper-melodic in the sense the chorus roots itself in your head with little regard for any song you may have heard previously. ‘Wish’ brings a healthy dose of saxophone that borders offensive but that is just a part the tracks charm.

Halfway marker ‘Dancing Days’ is not only where the album finds its name, “goodbye to my pretty years”, but also where the band finds a moment of retrospective in both career and life. Throughout the record the inspirations are apparent, with periods of explosive grandeur being reminiscent of acts such as Springsteen (‘Shrine’) and a fast paced style (‘Beam’) that could be just about any punk band from the last twenty years.. Guitarist/singer Joseph D’Agostino’s vocals have a rough edge that just emphasises the overall aesthetic that Cymbals Eat Guitars so brilliantly apply.

‘Pretty Years’ is certainly a listen that doesn’t leave you alone for a single moment. From the first few bars of the opener to the chaotic crescendo that it bids you farewell on, it’s savage, emotive but most of all it’s weirdly brilliant. A sound that makes a change from the torrents of same-ness that is so easily found, Cymbals Eat Guitars are on to something, and they aren’t stopping till you know it. Steven Loftin