Take Hold Records. Album Info: This is Stairwell's first full length release. This band from CA has recently been on tour with Element101 and they played the Decapolis Stage last year at Cornerstone.
About five years ago, I never imagined that those of the punk rock inclination would break free of that whole caffeinated hyperbeat rhythm thing. But nowadays, bands like Stairwell give me some hope. These guys leave you with a bit of a punk taste in your mouth, but switch it up with a variety of tempos. The vocals, while not particularly my taste, are strong. The low-register harmonies sink into the mix quite nicely. The truth is, this album lost some cool points for a couple of reasons. As I bopped like a high school-aged Blink fan into the kitchen while listening to this one, I thought I had Stairwell pretty much figured out. But as I sat back down in the living room, I thought somebody switched my CD for a random emo-pop album (you know, right at the spot where they all get kind of sappy). Yes folks, Stairwell's got a couple token "emotional" ballads. Before that, I was thinking that they'd found a sense of jock-rockish originality in their oh-so catchy guitar hooks. But when the music got "tender", I got disappointed. In the end, I found Stairwell to be a representation of a handful of predictable sounds that had been meshed in with what I would consider to be true potential and originality. Check it out for yourself. This one could go either way.
B-
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