Our Lives in Motion
Stages
Self-released
Sounds like: A combination of Anberlin and Secrets & Whisper
Score: 7/10
Say hello to Our Lives in Motion, the unjustly unsigned band out of Worcester, MA that is making some serious noise thanks to their catchy sophomore EP Stages. Its six songs of straight-forward pop-rock laced with smooth vocals.
One thing I enjoyed about this EP was OLIM’s willingness to use instruments other than just guitars, bass, and drums. Pianos and synthesizers are organically incorporated while the album maintains its rock roots with soaring guitar and subtly tricky drum lines. The vocals are somewhat a mixture of Andrew Jordan of Matchbook Romance and Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy, making each chorus on this album pretty damn catchy.
Strangers of the Night is the one song that caught my attention almost immediately. It’s fast-paced and melodic, and features the best bridge on the record as vocalist Dave Beaudreau sings “covered by darkness, these streets are the only place for me to go.” Recovery features one of the best choruses and is also probably the most aggressive sounding track on Stages.
Unfortunately, Stages suffers from a lack of variety in the songs (most of the tracks sound too much alike) and I feel that their musicianship wasn’t showcased the way it could have been. OLIM are a talented bunch so it would benefit them to step outside of the general template of pop-rock and add more progressive elements to their songs.
That being said, I think OLIM got their point across with this record and it sounds like a preview of bigger things to come for the band. Look for them to get signed sooner rather than later thanks in part to Stages. The record is streaming on PureVolume and you can buy it on iTunes.
-Felipe Garcia
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