Waking Ashland - Telescopes
Waking Ashland bares quite a bit more in common with soft-spoken beloved indie kids Copeland
It can be quite amusing at times to check out which artists a band chooses to describe themselves as similar to, and try to associate their sound with. Take for instance California based emo-indie-piano band Waking Ashland. On their band's official biography, they compare themselves first to Jimmy Eat World and Weezer; both being terrible, terrible representations of what's to be found here. Waking Ashland bares quite a bit more in common with soft-spoken beloved indie kids Copeland, and the like. They continue on a little further to mention notable inspirations such as pop genius Elvis Costello; and he's about the only one I could truly give them with no guilt on my conscience.
Waking Ashland sounds quite a bit like a toned down version of Andrew McMahon's Something Corporate, as well; keeping the piano in the forefront--as opposed to relegating it mostly to the background like McMahon does. This is a complimentary comparison, and fans of softer emo-indie will surely fall in love with the deliciously digestible tunes found here on Telescopes. It should also be noted that this release is only a seven-song EP; and their first release on new label home Immortal, after leaving the indie-Christian record label Tooth & Nail for a decidedly more mainstream home. The change of labels also comes with a step up in maturity in songwriting from their '05 debut LP—Composure—with Telescopesshowcasing such solid gems as the easy pop title track, the soft paced “Flowers On A Wall,” and the slowly building effort closer “Reseda.” They even light things up a bit on the near-driving centerpiece track “Under The Gun.”
The lyrics here aren't nearly as bad as they could have been, either. So, when lead singer Jonathan Jones earnestly sings near-emo cliches such as; “Two miles between you and me / but there might as well be an ocean ... we might as well be strangers / 'cause I'm flying kites into the wind ... and I'm painting pictures with all your lost letters / hoping just to carry on,” you can't help but just about believe him. It may not be the most poetically executed stuff; but it's still more than catchy, and relatable, enough to carry just enough resonance to register.
As I mentioned earlier; Waking Ashland remind me a heck of a lot of Copeland in their Beneath Medicine Tree-era. If you're a fan of that record, I can almost guarantee you'll love what Waking Ashland has put together here. Even if you're not, Telescopes is still a nifty little piece of melodic emo-indie rock. At it's best, this record serves as some interesting, inspired tidbits of what we can hopefully expect from Waking Ashland in the future.
(Immortal Records)