You'd think the world would've gotten tired of squishy sensitive-boy music by now, but apparently it's still a very hot commodity. I guess it's either that or theatrical dancecore these days. Luckily, there are a lot of sub-genres to choose from. You could take something drunken and broken-sounding of the Bright Eyes variety, something kickassingly great like Say Anything, or you could just strip it down to its barest and best essentials, which is what Dave Melillo has done. One of the newest members of the Drive-Thru Records family, he joined at the ripe old age of 16 and doesn't look like he's going to be leaving anytime soon. Dave already has the support of James Paul Wisner (did you look him up after reading the Forever Changed review like I told you to?), and many are following in the footsteps of this wise man.
"What's up with this sudden onslaught of highschool-aged emo boys really making it as super-talented musicians?" you are currently demanding furiously of whoever's sitting closeby. Don't be so hasty to group Dave in with any old group, though. There's a fierce yet wonderfully gentle edge to Dave's voice, not unlike the certain something that makes Bryce Avary so thrilling to listen to. What's extraordinarily appealing about his music is the unbelievably clean feeling it embodies and transfers to you via your ears. Each individual instrument is clearly separated from the others, so it's more like a university chamber choir than a clumsy middle school volunteer chorus. The maturity Dave manages to communicate through his music is astonishing, and the quality of the music itself is a whole other matter. I base my opinion on the instruments, the lyrics, and the vocals when I say that listening to any song on this EP feels like overhearing a private conversation between two very close friends. Honestly� listen to "This is 2005," coincidentally my favorite track on the EP. It's honest and personal, but not whiney enough to induce nose-wrinkling. If there were any other band that fit that description more perfectly, I'd stick them in the sentence 'Dave Melillo is for fans of ______.'
The entire Talk is Cheap EP was available for download on MTV.com, but as of now, it isn't anymore. However, that means you can probably find it on Limewire or the like if you browse. If you're all for legal music appreciation and all that (bless your heart), the release date of the physical CD is June 13th. If you're a fan of squishy sensitive-boy music in general and you've been looking for something crisp and heartfelt to shake things up, Dave Melillo is the thing.
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A.A. '06 |
