Ten 33 Emergency! Emergency!

To say a band is "young," no matter what the actual age of its members may be, is taken as quite an insult by some. When I refer to Ten 33 as "young," I sincerely hope to convey the idea that this band has unrealized potential, rather then encourage the general interpretation of "young" which adds up to "juvenile," "poor," or worse terms that needn't be utilized here. Ten 33 play melodic hardcore that is very similar to Stretch Arm Strong, with touches of Reach The Sky, Comeback Kid and Bane. About half of the batch here is cookie cutter youth crew filled with dance parts, sing-a-longs and pick slides, lying somewhere between the spirit of the '88 revival and the mid 90's onslaught that stemmed mostly from Boston (In My Eyes, Ten Yard Fight, etc.); nothing new, but not bad. The upbeat drive of "Catching Drama," "Stop Looking," and "The Drowning" will definitely have kids moving, and were personal faves of mine, but I've still heard better.The remaining material is much more experimental and punk-based. This is where the Stretch and Bane comparisons are blatant. Unfortunately, Ten 33 isn't creative enough to further the innovative nature those groups were (and in some cases still are) so well known for. Tracks like "Black Manhattan" and "Your Riches, My Rags" feature clean guitar tones, angular rhythms and unpredictable structures, which help to shake things up, yet they sound somewhat awkward compared to the more aggressive material, creating a noticeably uneven feel. It's like they went to take the next step up, but fell short; an all too familiar story for scores of HC bands and their records. Another aspect I found needing a great deal of improvement is in the lyrics dept. I definitely try to shy away from judging another's thoughts/feelings too much, but the majority of the words here are repetitive, boring and trite. The bulk of the work here seems focused on friends, betrayal and the relationship between the two. There are so many songs about "getting stabbed in the back," you'd think they spent every hang-out opportunity at the local Excalibur store. It's fairly ridiculous. Of course, the standard issue straight edge (or simply anti drinking, whichever way you want to view it) song appears, as well as the prerequisite numbers regarding unity, fighting at shows and saving the scene. Worthy causes for commentary to be sure, but the input relayed through the lines is not particularly thought provoking or even as emotionally powerful as similar tunes have been. It's nice to see the occasional "outside of the box" offering like "Black Manhattan," which speaks to the events of Sept 11th and its personal and political effects, but amidst the cheesy company of the rest of the lyrics on the record, it sadly is somewhat lost. The sound quality is also shabby, which further weakens the case for "Emergency! Emergency!," but it's far from the worst I've heard. Again, things just don't seem to match up when it matters. The cover art from Cody Miles is awesome though with colors, contrast and content that combine for a knockout punch. Bottom Line: There were more than a few moments within the exactly half-hour of music featured here that I got into Ten 33. The problem was that as soon as I felt a connection, it was severed by the all too quick musical change-ups and tired lyrical topics. I would encourage these lads not to give up, but to go forward. Take the decent start here and make something great out of it. It's a ways off, but I think it just may be worth the wait.