I try to keep an open mind when I’m reviewing CDs, movies or books, but it’s hard not to pass judgment on an album titled “Expensive Vomit in a Cheap Hotel.”
But even though I thought I would hate Sleeping in the Aviary’s sound (grunge and crunk, which they were mostly known for before, aren’t my styles) I was pleasantly surprised.
This is the first time I’ve been sent a CD to review from a relative unknown that didn’t completely suck.
Sleeping in the Aviary’s newest album, which was released Oct. 14, is a refreshing mix of grunge (“Gas Mask Blues”), alternative rock (“Things Look Good”) and folk (“Calm Me Down”).
Lead guitarist and singer Elliott Kozel demonstrates high-pitched, sometimes scratchy vocals in several of his tracks (“Everybody’s Different, Everybody Dies”), reminiscent of Modest Mouse frontman Isaac Brock.
He also demonstrates the ability to mellow out (“Calm Me Down”), and I think both styles work really well for him.
Apparently this album is a bit of a change for Sleeping in the Aviary, which had been compared previously to Nirvana, the Violent Femmes and The Thermals after their debut album.
I have a hard time believing Nirvana would have ever recorded a touching melody like “Calm Me Down.”
“I think it would be boring to make the same record over and over again,” Kozel said in a statement. “I want to surprise people with each album that I make.”
This isn’t the kind of album that will ever be blasted at parties — the sound is a little raw, and the style isn’t really “pop” — but I could see Sleeping in the Aviary hitting the big time after this album gets a little more exposure.
If anything, “Expensive Vomit in a Cheap Motel” succeeds because you can tell the band has something to say. That’s always the most important part about music to me: What do you have to say, and why?
The next step is to say it well, which Sleeping in the Aviary did.