Counterfit
Super Amusement Machine For Your Exciting Heart (2002)
Sheena
So here it is. Counterfit has finally released a full length CD. It took 2 times to record due to some unexpected road blocks, but it was well worth the wait. Although I was expecting something along the lines of 12-14 songs, we got 10. But that only meant more time could be spent on each song. I've waited for this album since the release of their lengthy EP last spring. I can only touch up on how I really feel about the CD because I have trouble finding the words describing how incredibly awesome I think this CD is.
A lot of these songs come to me as no surprise. They've been played live before and so I thought I knew what to expect of this album. I've heard the first song on the CD, "Souvenir," as a trial at a show a few months back and it was such a redundant, boring song. It was a disappointment to me, but after hearing it recorded and mixed, it's actually a really awesome song. It was the "on and on and on" that bugged me, but it's well blended into the song on the recorded version. I guess it's just one of those songs that's not meant to be played live.
Both "Managing the Details…" and "Lying In Traffic" were both songs played as far back as last year. I favor "Managing the Details" over "Lying in Traffic" where the whole band stops the music and sings "Always second guessing that you would behave the wayâ¦". "Lying in Traffic" has a bit of screaming in it which I am not a big fan of. It suits the song, and sets it apart from the others.
I always hated being pumped for a new CD of some band that I liked, taking it home and finding that all the songs sounded the same. This CD does not disappoint the listener in this way. It includes an "experimental" song "Arriving Where you Will" that sounds nothing like the Counterfit I am used to. The first 7 seconds of the song remind me of a Reggie and the Full Effect song, but after the music and singing start, it's obviously not influenced by Reggie. As the music finishes, there are some distracting sound effects, which make me think Radiohead for some reason. This is the one song that I would never have guessed was Counterfit. It's not their recognizable stop and go sound.
My personal favorite is "This Dance" which had an alternate version released a couple of months prior to the official LP release date. This song built the anticipation of the CD more so than any CD I've ever got. It's my favorite and I wish it was the song that gets the radio airplay rather than "Better Late than Never". "This Dance" has an appealing and pleasing sound to the listener. There is an all instrumental song which passed me by until just the other day when I was in the car waiting for the singing to start. Didn't happen. It's a different, and almost unusual touch. The last song "Better Late Than Never", is the first "single" released for airplay. It's catchy, and hopefully it catches on.
Like I said, I'd have trouble with this review, basically, get this CD if you like No Knife or Mock Orange and other such bands. Listen to the MP3s first if you have doubts. This will just be one of the better things that'll happen to your CD collection. I'm serious.