Whether we admit it to ourselves or not, it's simply undeniable... in this music scene, we feel compelled to like the band that no one likes yet. Indie-hipster-whathaveyou's are always out to find the next buzz band a few months before it starts buzzing. It's become an obsession. And thank goodness for it, because if this weren't true, then kind-hearted webzine owners such as myself wouldn't have much of a job.
Sometimes a band will show off a lot of potential and turn out to be just a flash in the pan. Sometimes that quiet little Mid-western band surprises us all and rockets out of nowhere. The next big thing is never particularly predictable. No matter how sure you are that a band is going to be the next TRL hotshot... there's always a chance that the farthest they'll ever get is opening for Unwritten Law on their Canadian tour.
With this in mind, I'm still going to say it... listening to the Proposal is exciting. It's damned exciting to listen to a CD and think... yeah, this is it. This is the future.
Rough around the edges but clutching tight to a heart of gold, the Proposal is a powder keg ready to go off. Any elitist audiophile could spend hours listing other bands who sound similar to these guys, but when you listen to the songs, it becomes fairly obvious that while a lot of bands play music the same way the Proposal does, most don't do it with even half the honesty. This CD that they thrust into my hands--Remember To Forget Me--sounds exactly like the first major release for a band who will go platinum a few albums down the line.
The production quality leaves a lot to be desired, and that's putting it mildly. You can tell they're trying their best, but even with the attention they've gotten, this band hasn't been doing shots of rum with Fred from Taking Back Sunday backstage at the Knitting Factory. Yet. The guitar sound is well wound, the bassist isn't too indulgent, and the drums do a fairly good job of supporting the mood presented by the other instruments. Lots of background vocals... Dual-vocalists alternating between heartbreaking vocals and screams? We've heard that before. We've heard a LOT of that before. And if anyone has had their fill of it, believe me, it's me. But this music is still doing something for me.
From what I've heard, I'm not the only one who thinks all of this. If these guys could still be called a "best-kept secret," it won't be for long. They're working way too hard to stay anonymous. I'm not going to pretend that this band offers a lot to the music scene in terms of originality at this point. They're channeling the same influences as a lot of other groups, and it's ending with the same result as a lot of other groups.
But there is a spark of evolution hiding within the tones of the songs on this record. The Proposal is just aching for you to give them the chance to blow your mind. And this CD does a pretty good job of showing you the raw talent they plan on putting to use. They push their sound higher and higher, and as the album fades out, your fists are still clenched as you think, "...almost." This band has almost arrived, and this CD is your last chance to jump on the wagon before they upgrade it to a limo.
The songs are catchy, honest, and relevant. Buy this CD if you don't want to wait another second to realize where the Proposal is going.
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R.S. '06 |
