Comparisons to bands such as Sigur Rós and The Cure are usually tools of over zealous rock journalists who feel they must over hype the band in question so that they can come off as a modern day Lester Bangs. We all can't be the guy pretentious enough to champion The Stooges' Raw Power as the elixir to rock and roll during a time of Hall and Oates and The Carpenters now can we? Now what happens when a band actually does merit such comparison? Either they're kitsch and mediocre because they come off as imitation - or they've actually done something more akin to standing on the shoulders of giants.
In the case of such giants, Atlanta, Georgia's Snowden actually does deserve such accolades. Their self titled record's opener Victim Card opens with an echoing guitar that single handedly turns the atmosphere into a chilly terrain while Jordan Jeffares' soft vocals cut in and out like a lone voice in the bitter wind. Good News has him channeling the spirits of Pornography-era Robert Smith. Lines like it used to break my heart but it doesn't anymore which at many points sound worn out in other forms, sound fresh and new in this format. Not to say that Snowden is inventing a new wheel here, but they sure are bringing an old model back into style. Kill The Power seals the deal in concerns to their bid to be heirs to The Cure's proverbial throne. As blasphemous as that may be - it's actually closer to the truth than many cynics might think. A solid effort that makes Snowden to The Cure as Allan Aguirre's Spy Glass Blue is to Bowie.
3/4
